Trick or Treat
by stuartkp
Summary: It's the 13th Annual Hunger Games, and this year's unlucky tributes are in for a fright. The Gamemakers have decided to honour a forgotten holiday from before the Dark Days, Halloween. Twenty-four teenagers are about to face their worst fears, as well as each other. Only one can survive.
1. Tribute List

This is the very first fan-fiction I've ever written, and the first time I've ever used this site apart from reading stories. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it!

As these Games were started via Twitter (my username is stuartkp) I had my followers submit tribute profiles for me to write about. I have indicated their usernames next to their tributes in the list below, and I am very grateful for the work they put into writing their profiles.

I will post new chapters as and when I finish them.

Here is the list of tributes for the 13th Annual Hunger Games, including their ages (in brackets) and training scores.

DISTRICT 1

-Male: Glory Divine (18,  themockinggay) - 11  
-Female: Azalea Echo (17,  Thresh_Dist11) - 9

DISTRICT 2

-Male: Alix Tor (16,  joshboulton) - 7  
-Female: Flic Heeld (17,  themockingllama) - 9

DISTRICT 3

-Male: Static Faraday (15, my 15-year-old brother) - 6  
-Female: Siri Cleus (16,  kieran_flaherty) - 4

DISTRICT 4

-Male: Emerald Seastar (17,  peetascupcakes) - 8  
-Female: Laycie Sabrine (17,  n4kedfinnick) - 10

DISTRICT 5

-Male: Julius Volt (16,  colbylately) - 5  
-Female: Voltarina Sockets (15,  jhutchfucksme) - 6

DISTRICT 6

-Male: Crank Silverchip (16,  imconorwbu) - 3  
-Female: Lori Vale (13,  MarveliciousTHG) - 2

DISTRICT 7

-Male: Hawthorn Perry (15,  iphonie) - 6  
-Female: Yew Catkin (14,  benpopart) - 5

DISTRICT 8

-Male: Thread Pennyworth (12, my 11-year-old brother) - 3  
-Female: Felicia Purdue (12,  ocharlo) - 4

DISTRICT 9

-Male: Garner Harris (17,  liamc0x) - 8  
-Female: Tessa Martin (14,  allmahogany) - 3

DISTRICT 10

-Male: Jackson Farrow (15,  brysonday) - 4  
-Female: Blade Darcy (14,  thehornygames) - 7

DISTRICT 11

-Male: Valencio Criolos (17,  _markwatson) - 7  
-Female: Irelia Reveck (17,  tehfluzz) - 6

DISTRICT 12

-Male: Hack Deepmark (17,  baxfail) - 7  
-Female: Aleannah Banks (16,  immahwasp) - 1


	2. Death is Coming

The tributes rise up the tubes, filled with anxiety and dread. They feel trapped and helpless as they ascend into the hell that awaits them above. The hell designed by the Capitol. The pedestals they are standing on offer the tributes up and out of the underground tubes, and the arena comes into view.

Grey. Everything seems to be dull and grey. Twenty-four tributes stand on podiums, which form a semi-circle facing the harsh metal Cornucopia. As usual, in front of the large metal horn are large racks of weapons and supplies, and miscellaneous backpacks, smaller weapons and less useful items are littered across the ground further out.

The ground is covered in ash. It's as if the entire arena had suffered a terrible fire recently. The sky is not visible due to a vast expanse of miserable cloud. Behind the Cornucopia, a chilling sight is noticed by some of the tributes. A graveyard.

To the right appears to be some kind of ruined settlement, and in the distance a large mansion-like structure can just be seen through the ash that floats in the cool air. To the left, there appears to be a large lake of water. A couple of tributes notice a large mountain behind them, in the distance, its summit not visible due to the ominous clouds that surround it.

The large circular clearing the tributes are in is enclosed by forestry. Although these trees are not the kind which tributes from District 7 may recognise. These trees were dead. Black, leafless and dead. The entire arena is dead.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let the 13th Annual Hunger Games begin!", booms the voice of Antonius Templesmith, the announcer for the Games. "May the odds be ever in your favour."

The countdown begins. Sixty seconds.

The eerie atmosphere of death in the arena chills the tributes to the core as the seconds tick by. The Career tributes give each other smug, self-assured nods and assume positions preparing them for the sprint to the Cornucopia. Some tributes who originally thought they would run in the opposite direction are eyeing up the weapons and supplies. The temptation may prove too much. The younger tributes look skittish and nervous.

Thirty seconds.

Aleannah from 12 ponders her life. She was sick of living in District 12, constantly starving and dealing with her abusive parents. She had nothing to live for. She has nothing to go home to. She contemplates a way to end her life on her own terms.

Garner, the boy from 9 who is considering abandoning his plan to flee the Cornucopia, scans his eyes over the vast array of weapons before he finds what he is looking for. A vicious-looking sickle, a weapon he has experience with from harvesting crops in his district. He knows he stands a chance if he can get to it. Little did he know, other tributes had their eye on that same weapon.

BOOM!

A huge explosion throws the tributes off guard. Thread, the little 12-year old boy from 8, saw the District 12 girl fall backwards off the podium, causing the mines around her podium to blow up. The force from the explosion almost knocks him off his podium as well. The reality of the situation collides with him, and he feels more afraid than ever.

Flic, the girl from District 2, looks over to where the 12 girl used to be and laughs, shaking her head. She had heard the Seam girl had cheered when she was reaped for the Games. Why would a weak, pathetic girl from 12 be happy to go to certain death? She must have been crazy.

The gong sounds. Most of the tributes are still in a daze from the explosion at Aleannah's podium, and remain on their pedestals. The Careers are just as focused and determined as ever, though, and sprint toward the Cornucopia. Other tributes begin to make their way to the Cornucopia as well, while a few hesitate.

The Careers reach the Cornucopia first. Laycie, the beautiful District 4 girl collects a large array of daggers and throwing knives. Her long, flowing blonde hair and pretty blue eyes give the tall 17-year old an innocent aura, but she is lethal. Her district partner, Emerald, grabs a large spear and the pair guard the nearby supplies.

Jackson, the boy from District 10 with fiery red hair, runs cautiously behind the Cornucopia, searching for some rope he could use. If he could find some, he might be able to create a trap later on.

"Hey, carrot top!" calls out Flic, the vicious District 2 girl. Jackson turns round only to see a spear flying towards him. It impales his stomach before he gets the chance to move, and he falls to the ground. A rabbit foot falls out of his pocket, his token from home. Flic runs over and twists the spear in his gut, laughing. "Funny, I thought those things were supposed to be good luck." She wrenches the spear out of him and leaves. His last thoughts are of his father, and how he will be alone now.

Siri, the girl from 3, and Blade, the girl from 10, both head for the pair of knives lying near the edge. They collide, and Blade throws a punch toward Siri's face.

Siri blocks it effortlessly with her forearm, before using the 14-year-old's momentum to throw her off balance. Siri kicks Blade to the ground, who then gets up to defend herself.

"What the hell?" blurts Blade. "You only got a 4 in training."

Siri smirks before flying at Blade, punching her in the gut, spinning the girl around and getting her in a headlock.

The last words Blade hears are whispered into her ear: "Never judge a book by its cover". Siri snaps Blade's neck and lets her fall limp on the ground. She grabs the pair of knives and a backpack before fleeing.

Hawthorn, the 7 boy, sees an opportunity to find a hatchet. He runs toward the axe lying at the mouth of the Cornucopia, but before he can make it there, the large boy from 11 with tanned skin steps in his way, carrying a sword.

"I'm sorry", says Valencio, his black eyes apologetic but determined. He swings his sword and decapitates the younger boy.

"Died in the bloodbath, just like his pathetic little sister last year," snarls Azalea. She kicks Hawthorn's head into the depths of the Cornucopia, which stirs eerie clouds of ash in its wake. Valencio turns round to see the blonde District 1 girl hurl a knife in his direction. He dodges it, turns and runs toward the forest, grabbing a backpack on the way. Azalea decides he isn't worth the pursuit.

She's been looking for her favourite weapon, a bow. She has trained to use bows since she could walk, because she thought it looked pretty when she was young. She glances around and finds her target, only to see the girl from 5 running towards it.

"That's mine, bitch!" Azalea yells as Voltarina grabs the silver bow. She runs toward the 15-year old and tackles her to the ground. The Career has the girl pinned down and helpless, the bow at their side.

"You volunteered for your little sister, didn't you?" the District 1 girl says in a feigned sympathetic voice. "Pity she's going to be all alone now." She slashes twice across Voltarina's neck, and she dies instantly. Azalea leaves with the bow and two sheaths of arrows, looking satisfied.

She sees the little girl from 6 and the little boy from 8 wrestling over a backpack. She strings an arrow and yells, "Playtime's over, kids!" before firing it straight into Lori's head. She falls to the ground, dead. Horror fills Thread's eyes, and runs as fast as he can in the opposite direction with the backpack, colliding with his district partner Felicia. The two twelve-year olds take hands and flee for the ruined settlement.

"So cute", she spits mockingly. She lets them go. She'll get them later.

Meanwhile, Hack from 12 and Alix from 2 are fighting on the ground. The Career is winning, but Hack knees him in the crotch and reaches frantically for the pickaxe leaning against one of the crates. Alix tries to get up from his crippled position, but Hack shoves him down and brings the pickaxe down through his heart.

Flic saw this happen, but was too late to save her district partner. The Career howls with fury and sends a spear flying towards Hack, but it misses by an inch.

"I guess District 2 are useless this year", mocks Hack. "As usual."

Flic is enraged, and chases after the boy. However, Hack grabs the nearest backpack and throws it at the ground behind him, causing Flic to trip over it. Hack runs in the direction of the mountain, carrying his pickaxe and laughing.

Static from 3 and Julius from 5 had agreed in training to form an alliance, and are currently running towards the mountain with a couple of backpacks and a knife each which they grabbed from the outskirts of the Cornucopia. Yew, the young girl from 7, also fled the bloodbath straight away after grabbing the nearest backpack.

Glory, leader of the Career pack, is frantically searching for the weapon he is best with, the sickle. He carries a large sword with him, which he used earlier to cut down Crank from 6 while he begged and pleaded for his life. Pathetic.

His eyes finally fall on the vicious, curved blade he was searching for. However, it seems to be a popular choice. Garner from 9 and Irelia from 11 arrive and reach for the sickle at the same time. They begin to fight over it, when Glory calls out "That's mine, give it to me or I'll cut you to pieces". Irelia instantly lets go of the blade and sprints away from the Cornucopia with nothing. Garner wields the blade defensively as Glory runs towards him. Garner is caught off-guard when the District 1 boy performs an elaborate somersault, before landing and twirling around, his arm outstretched. His sword slashes down on Garner's arm, causing him to drop the sickle and scream. Glory kicks the 17-year old square in the chest, and he flies backwards over a crate of supplies.

Glory snatches the sickle up and admires it. Its blade is curved in a vicious way, and he imagines the damage he could do with it. He walks around the crate to finish off his victim, but he's gone.

"Bastard", spits the blonde District 1 boy, before running his free hand through his hair and winking to the audience.

"Glory!" Azalea calls. "Over here, pretty boy!"

Glory arrives to find the Career pack have assembled and pinned down the little girl from 9. Flic and Emerald are standing on her arms, while Laycie and Azalea hold down her legs. Tessa is letting out relentless, blood-curdling screams. Tears soak her young face as she begs the Careers to spare her.

"We thought you'd like to finish this one off", grinned Emerald.

Glory steps over the helpless young girl, who is shaking with fear and sobs. He raises the sickle in his hand.

Then something triggers in his brain. The little girl before him is no longer Tessa. It is his little sister, Splendour. Sweet, innocent, Splendour. He would do anything to protect her. Tessa's eyes are the same as Splendour's. The image of ending his little sister's life with the sickle in his hand is unbearable, and his arm lowers.

"I- I ca-", he stutters.

"Oh, for God's sake", groans Azalea. "I'll do it".

Tessa lets out one final, chilling scream, which is silenced as the girl from 1 brings a knife down into her forehead.

Tessa's moist, glassy eyes stare sightlessly into the distance. Something in Glory breaks a little, but he steels over his emotions and looks up. This is the Hunger Games. She had to die. All these people have to die.

"Where's Alix?" Glory asks to distract the other Careers from his brief moment of hesitation.

Flic's eyes falter for a moment, before she states coolly, "Dead".

"Are you freaking serious?" Glory asks, incredulously. "I know he only got a 7 in training, but that's just pathetic. He's supposed to be a Career!"

"He was", says Flic, coldly. "We all are". The atmosphere chills them to the core. She's right, only one of them isn't going to end up like Alix: dead.

Most of the remaining tributes have fled to the forest surrounding the area of the bloodbath. Garner, Tessa's district partner, hides at the edge of the forest and makes a makeshift bandage with his undershirt for the gash on his arm. It wasn't deep. He had witnessed the cruelty of the Careers as they killed poor Tessa. He couldn't help bonding slightly with her in training. She was sweet and funny. She didn't deserve to die. He makes a silent promise to avenge her death.

The little kids from 8 take shelter in one of the decrepit shacks in the settlement, comforting each other as they try to fall asleep. Thread in particular is very shaken by the events of the day. The pair had bonded in training and enjoyed many games of hide-and-seek together in the training center.

Hack from 12 was making his way up the mountain. He knew he wouldn't sleep that night, but he was used to functioning on very little sleep. He would be safer the higher he goes. Meanwhile, Static and Julius had settled inside a cave at the base of the mountain, looking through the supplies they had acquired from their backpacks.

They unpacked the sleeping bags from their bags and Static climbed in to get some sleep. Julius agreed to take the first watch. The pair had hit it off during training, as they had a very similar sense of humour.

He sits at the entrance to the cave, staring into the gloomy night. The anthem begins playing loudly throughout the entire arena, and the Capitol seal appears in the sky.

THE FALLEN

District 2 – Alix

District 5 – Voltarina

District 6 – Crank

District 6 – Lori

District 7 – Hawthorn

District 9 – Tessa

District 10 – Jackson

District 10 – Blade

District 12 – Aleannah

A Career died in the bloodbath? Julius can't help being slightly overjoyed, before realising he shouldn't celebrate the death of a person. Still, one less Career makes it that bit easier. His heart sinks when he sees his district partner's face in the sky, even though they never agreed to ally. He makes a mental note to tell Static that his district partner is still alive when he wakes

Meanwhile, the Careers assemble their supplies inside the Cornucopia and gather weapons. They would get some rest and hunt tomorrow.


	3. Ready Or Not

Dawn begins to break across the arena, although no sun could actually be seen through the thick, menacing clouds that stretch relentlessly across the sky. Most tributes had struggled to get much sleep, due to the fear and anxiety of being in the arena.

The Careers, however, had slept well. Azalea had taken the final watch of the night, although she spent most of it twirling the ring she wore on her finger, a simple gold band emblazoned with a lion's head. Her brother, who was the victor of last year's Hunger Games, had given it to her. She felt an immense amount of pressure to win these games and maintain the reputation of the Echo family name.

After a large breakfast, Glory decides that Laycie and Flic will join him and hunt in the forest. Azalea and Emerald will stay and guard their supplies at the Cornucopia.

"Let's hope you don't run into any little girls, Glory", scoffed his district partner. "You won't stand a chance!". Emerald sniggers.

Glory's attractive face transforms into a hideous snarl. "Shut up", he hisses, "or I'll end you, bitch". Azalea rolls her eyes and continues smirking, but says no more. The three Careers make their way to the eerie forest.

Yew, the 14-year old District 7 girl, had climbed many trees before, and had slept in the boughs of one of the larger trees she could find. It hadn't been easy to climb. The trees in this forest are thin, and their bark black and brittle. She eats a couple of crackers and a stick of meat jerky from her backpack and decides that she needs to find water.

The dark-haired little girl carefully climbs down and lands on the ground, which is covered in a thick layer of ash and littered with dead branches. She assembles what little supplies she has and begins walking in the direction of the lake she remembers seeing at the start of the Games.

She feels something stick to her as she walks, and looks down to see several strange, white threads clinging to her jacket. She continues walking before she feels more of these peculiar, sticky threads come into contact with her face. She panics before she turns and runs in another direction. She runs straight into a large wall of this substance, and fear strikes straight through her heart.

This is a spider web. Although this one is about one hundred times bigger than she had ever seen back home. She begins struggling, and jerking around in an attempt to break free. Her attempts are counterproductive, and she becomes hopelessly tangled.

Her worst fears are realised when she sees the creator of the web above her. Her eyes widen in horror as the spider crawls down from one of the corners of the web attached to a tree. This is no ordinary spider. It is the size of a full-grown man. Its legs are long and hairy, and its dozens of beady eyes are focused on its victim.

Yew lets out a scream of terror as the beast crawls down the web towards her. She writhes every limb and muscle as hard as she can, but she is hopelessly caught in this horrific creature's trap. The horror of the situation rocks her to the core, and she begins to sob as she screams.

"Please!" she howled. "Somebody help! Please!"

Its eight legs continue creeping closer, its fangs now visible. The beast hisses and Yew screams louder, terrified. Helpless.

The massive spider is now inches away. Its long, spindled legs begin to reach for Yew and its fanged mouth moved towards her face as she howls in terror.

She closes her eyes and thinks of her family, waiting for death.

Just as the spider is about to sink its fangs into her flesh, a sword slashes down on the beast. Yew's eyes whip open to see her predator fall to the ground. Valencio, the tall boy with tanned skin from 11, swings his sword down again on the spider, and it lets out one final hiss before he stabs right through its heart. The spider's long, hairy legs curl upwards, indicating the creature's death.

Valencio wipes his blade on his trousers and looks at the girl, who is still screaming. He moves towards her with his sword raised, and her eyes widen with fear.

"Shh", whispers Valencio. "Shh, it's okay". Yew becomes silent and tears roll down her cheeks. "It's okay. I'm going to cut you free. You're going to be okay".

He carefully slashes the masses of webbing that trapped the little girl, until she stumbles free of the evil white substance. She lurches forward and clings to Valencio in a tight hug, shaking with sobs. He wraps his strong arms around her and comforts her soothingly. He has two little sisters back home, and he is extremely protective of them.

"Thank you", sobs Yew. "I was so scared".

"You're okay", whispers the boy from 11. "I'm going to protect you".

He offers her a drink from his water canister. He had already made a trip to the lake before dawn broke. After a few minutes she has stopped shaking. Valencio smiles kindly and ruffles her hair, causing her to smile for the first time since she had entered the arena. The two begin journeying through the forest, sharing stories of home.

Hack, the 17-year-old from 12, had stopped climbing the mountain in the middle of the night to conserve his strength. He had slept in the mouth of a cave just off the beaten track that led up and around the mountainside. He was wary of continuing any further, as ominous grey clouds enveloped the rest of the mountain above him. He didn't eat anything from his backpack. He would save what little food it contained for when he absolutely required it. Being from the poorest district meant he was used to going without food.

He hears a faint screeching from the depths of the cave he sits in. He grabs his pickaxe and squints into the darkness. He hears flapping. Wings. He is on his feet and backing away cautiously. He sees them as the sounds get louder. Bats. Hundreds of them.

He turns and begins running. These could be mutts, genetically altered creations of the Capitol to provide vicious ends for tributes and entertainment for the audience. A few of the bats begin to flock around him. He flails his free arm around above his head, trying to ward the creatures away.

One of the black, winged creatures swoops down and he feels a searing pain on his arm. Its wings are razor sharp, and have sliced a deep wound in his arm. He runs faster, trying to escape these evil beasts before they shred him to pieces. His heart is pounding, his feet cannot carry him any faster down the path leading to the base of the mountain.

Another bat slices across his leg. Agony sears through Hack's limb. The wing has torn his calf muscle and running is extremely painful. Hundreds of bats are following him. He cannot outrun them, so he decides to abandon the path. He dives to the ground and tosses himself off the edge of the path, sliding and rolling down the side of the mountain.

Every bump jolts through his whole body as he falls down the surface, stirring up huge clouds of ash behind him. The bats have stopped following him and disappeared back to the cave.

After what seems like an eternity, Hack reaches the base of the mountain. His body falls with a jolt onto the ground, and he lands badly on his leg. He heard it snap, and agony shoots through his leg. It's broken. The other one's bleeding from the bat wound.

Hack sighs and looks for his pickaxe. It is nowhere to be found. He drags himself with his hands along the ground before hearing a cackle behind him.

"Pathetic", spits Flic. The girl from 2 laughs at the boy who had escaped her at the bloodbath. "Crawling around like an animal. Is that what they teach you in that filthy district of yours?"

Glory steps forward, but Laycie brushes him away and winks at him, tossing her flowing blonde hair over her shoulder. "I'll do it", she says in a strangely cheerful voice.

"No!" hisses Flic. "This bastard is mine".

She kicks Hack in the stomach and laughs. "Not so useless now, am I, Twelve?". He simply grunts in pain. She kicks him in the face for not responding. Blood begins pouring from his nose. He groans and stares hatefully into her black eyes.

"I'll teach you to mess with District 2, you bastard", she hisses, before impaling his stomach with her spear. She twists it and a sinister grin spreads across her face. Her dark hair and eyes wild, she looks possessed.

She removes the spear from his gut, and leaves him to die. She deliberately aimed to puncture his stomach, so he would have a slow and painful death as he bleeds internally. She spits on him and walks away.

"Lovely", chirps Laycie. She gives Flic a high five and grins at Glory. "Where should we head now?"

"I think we should head south through the forest", says Glory. "Towards the lake. The tributes will be needing water".

"Great", grins Laycie. "I love heading south". She winks flirtatiously at the boy.

Hack continues to groan in agony on the ground behind them, coughing up blood.

"Oh, shut up", Flic sneers. Laycie sighs and throws a knife expertly towards the dying boy. It hits him right between the eyes, and his cannon fires.

"What the hell?" moans Flic. "He was supposed to suffer!"

"I think he'd suffered enough", says Laycie sympathetically. "Come on, let's get moving". The three Careers walk off, Flic groaning and mumbling under her breath.

Static and Julius, the boys from 3 and 5, had woken early in search of food and water. They had filled their canisters at a pool near the cave they slept in at the base of the mountain, and started journeying through the forest in the hope of finding something to eat.

They had stumbled across the Careers killing Hack, and stayed hidden until they had left. Overhearing their plan to go to the lake, they decided to avoid heading in that direction.

After walking through the endless, eerie forest for a couple of hours, they find the trees becoming further apart until they walk out into a clearing. The sight before them causes the boys to punch the air with joy.

In the middle of the clearing was a large field of fertile land, which was filled with pumpkins growing among flashes of green leaves. It was the first colour they had seen in the arena that wasn't blood.

"They're huge!" grins Static. "Almost as big as your massive head!" They both laugh.

"Well, nothing's as big as your mom's massive butt!" sniggers Julius.

The grin fades from Static's face, and his eyes sadden. "My mother is dead".

"Oh my god", Julius says. "I'm so sorry! I didn't kn-"

Static starts laughing hysterically. "I was kidding, you idiot!" He is practically creased over with laughter. "You should have seen your face!"

Julius feigns a punch on Static's arm and starts laughing too. They turn their attention back to the potential feast in front of them. There are many crows standing in and around the pumpkin plants, pecking at the leaves. Their bodies are black as night.

"Careful", warns Julius. "They could be mutts".

"Only one way to find out!" grins Static. He runs towards the crows, arms outstretched and roaring like a lion. Julius can't help but laugh, even though the noise could attract other tributes. The crows all fly away and disappear over the sinister branches of the forest. They aren't mutts.

The boys take a pumpkin each and begin chopping them up to eat. Static slices it up and begins eating, whereas Julius cuts a hole in the bottom and removes the sweet insides.

After finishing, Julius carves an amusing looking face in the pumpkin and puts it over his head. This results in more hysterical laughter from Static. The two continue joking around as they gather more pumpkin to eat later.

"Where do you think your district partner is, Static?" asks Julius.

"I don't know", replies the District 3 boy. "She could be anywhere. I didn't expect her to survive the bloodbath".

Little did they know, Siri had been following them carefully since the first day. Watching and waiting…

The little kids from District 8, Thread and Felicia, had taken refuge in one of the abandoned houses. They were both thirsty, and the 12-year-old boy had jokingly turned on the rusted tap. However, they were both surprised when water began flowing out of it. They filled a canister each and used iodine tablets from their packs to purify it.

Felicia looks out of the window at the large mansion in the distance. It was surrounded by a black, railed fence and had a large, spiked gate.

"I think we should go there", she says. "It looks huge, and if there's water here, who knows? There might even be a banquet in there!"

Thread agrees. It looks fun. They get their backpacks and make there way through the town to the manor. They push open the large gate, which creaks very loudly, and make their way into the grounds of the estate. The grass is grey, and the rosebushes that line the walls of the mansion are withered and dead. As they approach the large, black front door, it swings open slowly by itself.

The hairs on the back of their neck stand up, and they creep slowly forwards and into the building. Candles spontaneously light as they cross the threshold, casting eerie shadows across the room. They see a large hallway and staircase, and doorways into a variety of rooms. They hear an organ playing in the room to the right, and they make their way through to find a large, stuffy room with a magnificent organ against the far wall. It is playing itself; the keys of the instrument rise and fall as the pipes give out a haunting melody.

That sight only chills them for a moment, because before them is a large table with plates and plates of food. Steam rises from the dishes, and it smells amazing. Roast chickens, vegetables, fruits, desserts, and many other delicacies line the table. The children squeal and begin stuffing their faces.

"Let's just stay here", grins Felicia. "This place is awesome!"

The District 8 kids had never seen so much food in their lives. However, the little girl remembers where they are, and the feeling of joy leaves her. Thread senses this and decides to try and cheer her up again.

"Come on, Felly", giggles Thread. "Let's play hide and seek, just like at the Training Centre"

She smiles. "Okay, I'll hide. You start counting".

Thread puts his hands over his eyes. "One hundred. Ninety-nine. Ninety-eight…"

Meanwhile, Irelia from 11 walks through the forest in search of water. She can see the lake through the trees, and her thirst drives her towards it. Her thoughts always come back to her family. Her sister had committed suicide when she was reaped for the Games a few years ago. Another girl then had to be reaped, and she died in the bloodbath. Irelia's family was hated throughout the district for this, and her parents lost their jobs. Her family was starving. Irelia had signed up for tesserae for all of her family and herself. She wanted to win so her family never had to worry about starving ever again.

She emerges from the forest and walks towards the lake. She bends down and fills her canister from the lake. It is a large, grey expanse of water. The clouds are reflected on the surface, and her actions cause eerie ripples to spread through the vast expanse of water, distorting the image. She allows herself to be entranced by this for a few moments, before standing up and turning around.

Glory from 1 steps out from the trees and smirks, his sickle glowing in the dim daylight. Irelia, weaponless, turns to the right in an attempt to flee, only to see Flic blocking the path, spear in hand. She backs away and begins to run in the opposite direction, but sees Laycie smiling sweetly with two knives in her hands.

Irelia freezes. She has nowhere to run. She cannot swim, and the Careers have blocked all her escape routes. The three of them slowly edge closer to the tall, dark-skinned girl.

"Hey, sweet cheeks", says Glory. He puckers his lips and blows her a kiss. He strides over to the girl, and begins circling her, eyeing her up and down. Irelia is frozen with fear, with no possibility of escape.

"You know", he begins. "You're kind of pretty for someone from an outlying district".

She scowls back at him before slapping him across the face.

"Ooh", says, Glory, feigning surprise. "Kitty's got claws!". Flic laughs, a few steps to the side. Irelia punches him in the gut and tries to make a break for it, but Glory rebounds quickly and backflips, before squatting and spinning around, his leg extended. He trips her and she falls to the ground.

He performs a somersault and lands between Irelia's legs before pinning her on her stomach. He lies on top of her, his legs on hers, one arm holding hers above her head. He sighs seductively in her ear, "I bet you're loving this, Eleven". He turns and flicks his hair, before licking his lips for the audience.

He takes his sickle and places the viciously curved blade on her neck.

"Such a waste", he whispers in her ear before slicing across. Her blood sprays across the ground and she writhes in pain.

Glory gets up, and Laycie puts a hand on his shoulder before saying in a seductive voice, "I bet you'd like being on top of me like that", causing him to blush. She giggles and walks away. Flic rolls her eyes as Irelia's cannon fires.

Garner, the 17-year-old from District 9, had remained near the forest's edge, watching the Careers. His arm was no longer sore from the wound Glory inflicted. He sees that Azalea and Emerald guard the Careers' supplies at the Cornucopia. They look very bored. His plan might just work.

He gathers as many fallen branches as he could, and arranges them in a large pile. After about fifteen minutes of trying, he finally coaxes a few sparks from the sticks he was rubbing together. He had learned how to start fires in training, but these branches were dead and there was no foliage. After some careful blowing, the sparks began to light small flames which spread slowly until the larger branches catch fire. The fire crackles as he stands back to admire his work. Perfect.

He moves quickly, as quickly as he can from the fire. Staying close to the forest edge, he runs through the trees until he feels he is a safe distance away. He creeps right to the edge of the forest. Hiding behind the trunk of one of the trees, he watches the remaining Careers. Azalea is pointing over to where he started the fire. Smoke could be seen rising over the branches. The two argue briefly, before Azalea storms off in the direction of the fire. Emerald follows.

Garner tries not to call out with joy. His plan had worked, but he doesn't have much time. He briefly scans his surroundings before sprinting out from the forest towards the Cornucopia. He grabs a backpack and slings it over his shoulder, before searching for weapons. Since the leader of the Career pack had taken the only sickle, he decides to fasten two knives into his belt, and takes a sword.

He jumps as a spear collides with the metal of the Cornucopia, inches from his head. He turns around to see Emerald, the boy from 4, has returned to defend the supplies. That was stupid, it seems that spear was his only weapon. Careers are just as brainless as he suspected.

Azalea has not returned, she must have gone looking for the person who started the fire, so Garner decides it is safe to stay and fight this boy. He has accepted that death is likely, so he has made it his personal goal to avenge Tessa's death and target the Careers.

Emerald runs towards the dark-haired boy and slams into him. He is stronger than Garner, but Garner is no weakling. The two wrestle on the ground, and Garner struggles to get his sword in a favourable position. Emerald throws a couple of punches at Garner's face, and he returns them with his free hand.

Garner spits in Emerald's eye, causing him to flinch for a moment. He seizes this opportunity to stab his sword down into Emerald's chest. The blonde District 4 boy howls in pain. Garner flashes a brilliant white smile. He did it!

He hears a female voice call out. Azalea has returned and is running towards the pair. Garner twists the sword for good measure before taking it and his backpack and sprinting in the direction of the graveyard.

The District 1 girl sends an arrow in his direction, but it hits his backpack. She curses before leaning down to help her ally.

"What happened?" she asks incredulously. The wound is bad, and he is bleeding out at an alarming rate. Her stomach turns and she has to look away.

"District 9 bastard", coughs out Emerald, along with copious amounts of blood. "Do me a favour, get him for me."

"I will", promises Azalea. His cannon fires, and she closes his eyes. Two Careers killed in the first two days, this is shameful.

She realises that the Careers might suspect she killed Emerald while the two were alone, so she decides to abandon the alliance. She knew she had to at some point, and she knows the rest of the Careers might have plans to kill the others in their sleep. She isn't sticking around for that.

Azalea gathers some supplies, enough to last a few days. She takes two sheaths of arrows and her bow, before running in the direction Garner took. He is long gone by now, but she aims to find him. And end him.

She reaches the graveyard at the end of the forest. This is the closest she has been to it. Just then, she realises something that chills her. There are twenty-four graves, and there are names on each one. The names belong to this year's tributes. She briefly wonders why the Gamemakers decided to include this in the arena, before concluding it is just to intimidate the tributes. She continues on into the forest…

"Three. Two. One. Ready or not, here I come!" calls out Thread.

He opens his eyes and scans the room. He knew she wasn't in here; he was peaking through his fingers and saw Felicia leave the room. He tries the rooms on the ground floor, looking under tables and behind curtains. The rooms are strange, not like in his tiny house back in District 8. One room had a large table with coloured balls and a big stick on it.

Just as he is about to go upstairs, he sees a small passageway leading down a floor. He walks slowly down the stairs, each one creaking. It leads down to a single, wooden door. The door is stiff, so he shoves it open. The room is empty except for one thing. A coffin.

This scares Thread, and he runs straight back up the stairs. He clutches his token for comfort, a small handkerchief sewn for him by his mother. The twelve-year-old notices that the organ has stopped playing its spooky music.

He walks up the staircase and finds himself in a long hallway lit by candles. He enters the first door in his search for his friend, and enters a large, windowless bedroom. The dark wooden furniture and four-poster bed is covered in dust and cobwebs. She would have left a trail in here if she'd entered.

Suddenly, he hears a loud, blood-curdling scream coming from somewhere along the hallway. Felicia!

He leaves the bedroom and runs up the long hallway, calling out "Felicia! Felly!". He keeps running, driven by panic. Felicia bursts out of the door at the end of the corridor, looking terrified.

"Felicia! What's wrong?" Thread calls, running towards her. They meet mid-way down the corridor and hug.

"I saw a ghost!", she screams. Panic has taken over her. "I saw a ghost!"

"There's no such thing as ghosts", comforts Thread. The hug breaks and she stands back, trying to calm down.

They hear a creaking of metal right beside them. It comes from a suit of armour beside them, which he hadn't even noticed was there. Its arms swing down, and the axe it is carrying embeds itself in Felicia's head.

"No!" screams Thread, before pushing the suit of amour to the ground. It shatters into various pieces. "No, please! Felly!"

Her cannon fires as she falls to the ground. Thread kneels frantically down beside her and cries.

"No, no! Please! Felly, wake up! Please be okay." Tears soak the 12-year-old boy's face as he weeps. "Please wake up. You're my only friend in this place. Please, I can't do this without you!"

His tears fall onto Felicia's face and his body shakes violently as he grieves her loss.

"I hate this," he sobs. "I hate this! Felly, please come back. Why can't we just go home?"

He stops crying at the sight of something that terrifies him. A white, cloudy figure emerges through the surface of the wall ahead. It is a ghostly image of a rotting old woman in a ripped, white dress. Her face is peeling, and her skeletal fingers are outstretched. The sight of the ghost fills the little boy with immense fear, and he is frozen to the spot.

He hears the ghostly woman hiss his name, and he screams with terror. She blows, chilling the air in the hallway and causing the candles to extinguish, leaving Thread in total darkness. He turns and runs down the corridor, as fast as he can without being able to see where he is going. He can almost feel the chill of the ghostly fingers creeping on his neck. Before he can reach the end of the corridor, he slams into something. The candles instantly relight.

He looks up to see the figure of a man in some kind of formal attire. His skin is whiter than he thought possible, and his eyes are blood red. The figure's hands grip the boy in place like vices.

"I smelled the blood", hisses pale man, exposing the long fangs in his mouth. Thread lets out a scream of sheer terror as the vampire leans in and sinks his teeth into the little boy's neck.

Thread's screams continue, but no help would come. He tries to get away, but the vampire's strength was infallible. The man with the fangs drinks from the wound in his neck until Thread falls to the floor, pale and lifeless, still clutching his mother's handkerchief. His cannon fires, and the vampire returns to his coffin in the basement.

The day was drawing to a close, so the Careers decided to return to the Cornucopia. By the time they reach the edge of the forest, darkness has fallen across the arena. Flic was sick of hearing Glory and Laycie's relentless flirting, and was stomping a few steps ahead. She reaches the Cornucopia first, and realises Azalea and Emerald are gone.

"Where the hell are they?" she screams. Glory and Laycie stop talking and run over, looking alarmed.

"What is it?" asks Laycie.

"They're gone," replies Flic, exasperated. "They're freaking gone!"

The Careers' confusion is answered when the sound of the anthem fills the arena, and the Capitol seal appears in the sky.

THE FALLEN

District 4 – Emerald

District 8 – Thread

District 8 – Felicia

District 11 – Irelia

District 12 – Hack

"That traitorous bitch!" yells Glory in anger. "She killed him and ran for it. Coward!"

Laycie is quite upset at the death of her district partner, and Flic is pacing, frustrated. Glory kicks a crate in fury.

"Clearly she realised she didn't stand a chance against us", Flic snarls.

"We'll track her down tomorrow and show her she was right to fear us", agrees Laycie, her sunny disposition gone.


	4. Blood, Sweat and Tears

Valencio wakes abruptly and gasps. He had been having a nightmare in which his little sister was in the arena. She had been wandering around, looking scared. Her eyes were red and puffy from having cried recently. The District 1 girl had lept out from behind a tree and fired an arrow towards her. He tried calling out to her, to warn her. He had no voice. He couldn't move. The arrow plunged straight through her heart.

"It was only a nightmare", whispers Valencio under his breath. He looks down to see Yew's slumbering face in her sleeping bag; so peaceful. She reminds him so clearly of his sister, Maria. He winces as he realises that he is living in a nightmare. He looks at her young face, her dark hair, the flower on a chain wrapped around her neck. If Valencio is to return home to District 11 and be with his brothers and sisters, Yew must die.

He pushes these dark thoughts from his mind. It is unlikely that they will make it to the final two, so he won't face the difficult situation of having to kill the young girl. He doubts he would be able to. She's just a little girl; she doesn't deserve to die.

He scans their surroundings. All he can see are the black trees of the forest that has become his only reality. This arena, where twenty-three young people will spend their last days, is haunting. It was well known that this year's arena had taken inspiration from a holiday in the Old World. He wonders why anyone would have celebrated such scary, depressing things. He supposes the themes of fear and death are appropriate for the Hunger Games.

He cannot see any other tributes, although the eerie mist that envelops the entire forest makes that difficult. He was supposed to have stayed awake to look out for dangers while Yew slept, but the arena was pitch black throughout the night and he doubted any tributes would risk hunting or moving.

"Hey", yawns Yew, who has finally woken from her sleep. "Good morning."

"How did you sleep?" grins Valencio.

"Alright", shrugs the District 7 girl as she gets out of her sleeping bag. "It's impossible to sleep well in this place."

"I noticed that flower around your neck", says the handsome 17-year-old. His dark eyes fall on the blossom. He had never seen anything like it. It had many long, white petals and a yellow center, like the sun. "What is it?"

"Oh", she goes on. "It's a daisy. They are very rare, but my mother told me they used to be very common before the war. I saw it one day while I was working in the forest, and I took it because it looked pretty. I keep it now as a reminder that things weren't always like this." She gestures subtly to their surroundings.

Valencio is sure the Capitol have cut the camera feed to other tributes now. They don't broadcast conversations like this to the Districts.

"It's beautiful", he says, giving her one of his warm, dazzling smiles. Her token has given him strength. The Capitol cannot vanquish everything. They are not all-powerful.

She smiles back, before her eyes focus on something in the distance and her smile vanishes, happiness replaced with fear. Valencio turns round to see the blonde girl from District 1 stepping out from the mist that clings to the air and weaves between the sinister branches.

He wonders briefly why a Career is hunting alone, before getting quickly to his feet and raising his sword to defend Yew and himself.

He goes to move Yew behind him, only to see that she has begun to run away to the right. He sees Azalea raise her bow, already loaded with a lethal silver arrow.

"No!" he screams, but he is too late. The arrow soars through the air at lightning speed and enters the young girl's temple. Yew falls to the ground as her cannon fires. It feels as if the arrow has pierced his heart instead. He has failed her.

He turns his gaze towards Azalea, his eyes full of hate. District 1 girls are usually beautiful, and she was no different. Her blue eyes have an evil glint in them, and she laughs. Valencio feels pure fury and rage towards this girl before him. Every fiber of his being wants to charge at her with his sword, but she is a fair distance away and carries a bow.

Azalea begins to string another arrow, but hears something behind her that causes her to pause and turn her head.

"I'll get you later, handsome," she calls out to the District 11 boy. "I've got business to attend to." A sinister smirk spreads across her face as she turns and disappears into the eerie fog.

Valencio runs over to Yew's body and kneels beside her. Tears fall down his cheeks as he wrenches the arrow from her head before throwing it away in anger. He strokes her hair as he weeps. He had heard the cannon. She was gone.

"I'm sorry", he cries. He sees the daisy lying on top of her jacket and takes it in his hand. "I'm so sorry, Yew." He removes the daisy from the chain and places it in her dark hair, now damp with blood. A tear falls from his cheek onto her forehead.

Garner from District 9 had been watching from the boughs of a tree nearby and climbs down. Valencio's head darts up to see the dark-haired boy and prepares to fight, but he sees that his green eyes are filled with sorrow. Garner sheathes his sword in his belt and puts his hands up to show he means no harm.

Garner sighs and kneels down beside Valencio. "I'm sorry," he begins. His voice is friendly and puts Valencio at ease, who has now buried his head in his hands. "They killed my district partner. It was horrible."

"The Careers?" says the boy from 11. "They're despicable. They train for this. They volunteer for this. They want this."

"I know," sighs Garner, sliding Yew's eyelids closed. "I've been determined to avenge Tessa's death since I saw them kill her. She was just a little girl. She reminded me of my-"

"Sister", finishes Valencio, one final tear falling. "Yew reminded me of mine, too."

Garner places a hand on Valencio's shoulder. "We're too late to save them," he begins. "We're not too late to avenge them."

The two 17-year-olds lock eyes and Valencio nods. They shake hands before Valencio whispers goodbye to Yew.

Meanwhile, Static and Julius are discussing a plan to lead the Careers away from them when they go out hunting today. Neither of them are fighters, so they know they would be as good as dead if the Careers found them. They had been surprised to see another Career died yesterday. A few years after the Hunger Games had been initiated, kids from the richer districts started to train and volunteer for the Games. They allied to form the Career alliance and usually made it right to the end, when they would turn on each other and fight it out.

"This plan is a really good idea," says Julius enthusiastically. Static had suggested that they stuff as much pumpkin as they can into their backpacks, before piling up the rest and setting fire to it.

"Yeah!" Static grins. "It'll make a huge fire, the smoke will be seen from miles away. The Careers will head this way, but we'll be long gone."

"Brilliant!" Julius continues. "And this is the only food we've found in the arena. As far as we know, nobody else has found as much food as this, so we'll be eliminating it as a food source for others."

Static was proud of himself. He knew he was probably one of the weaker tributes, but the two boys were from Districts 3 and 5, making them smarter than most of the others. However, Static's district partner Siri was also very clever, and had been lingering in a tree close by, overhearing the boys' plan.

The fifteen-year-olds have a large breakfast of pumpkin, before filling their backpacks with the bright orange stuff. They gather as many of the leaves from the plants as possible to create an easily lit base, and then begin piling all the pumpkins on top.

Julius stretches his back when they are finished. "Yup", he laughs, admiring the huge orange pyramid. "Still not as big as your mom's ass!"

Static laughs in return as he lights a match from the box he took from his bag. He leans down and holds the small flame against the leafy base of the pyramid, which catches fire readily. The flames spread around the base, before slowly engulfing the large pile of the pumpkins.

The two boys high-five each other.

Siri, who had been following the pair in an attempt to find food, realises this is her only chance. She falls silently to the ground from her tree, landing right behind Julius. She takes her two knives and ambushes the boy from District 5, slitting his throat. He falls to the ground and his cannon fires.

Static is in shock. It all happened so quickly. He unsheathes his small dagger and attempts to thrust it towards Siri. The brown-haired girl dodges this easily and knocks the knife out of his hand. She knows she has to be fairly cold-blooded to win these Games, but she does not intend to kill her district partner. She knows that Victors are not popular in their home districts when that happens. However, she knows he has to die and she knows just how to make that happen.

Siri sheathes her knives before punching Static in the gut, winding him. She swiftly kicks him in the crotch causing him to buckle forward. Siri goes on to slam her fist into the side of his head, rendering him unconscious. He falls to the side and lands on the floor, his body glowing orange in the light cast from the raging blaze behind him.

She grabs the two backpacks, filled with pumpkin, and retrieves boys' knives before sprinting away from the scene. She hopes their plan works, and the Careers head towards the fire. They would find an unconscious Static and end him, so she wouldn't have to worry about killing him.

She runs for some time, before climbing a tree to rest. Siri is a typical pale-skinned, weak District 3 girl. District 3 have yet to produce a winner in the Hunger Games. However, she has a secret weapon. She made sure to give a poor performance in training to attain a low score, so the other tributes would overlook her. What the tributes didn't know was that she was very skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Her mother used to train members of her district in self-defense, as Peacekeepers in District 3 were known for being particularly brutal and sometimes abused female citizens. Siri had learned as much as she could until her mother was arrested and killed for training the citizens to defend themselves. Since then, Siri harboured immense hatred towards Peacekeepers and the Capitol.

She ate some of the pumpkin from one of the bags as she contemplated the remaining tributes.

The Careers had been searching for tributes for hours among the ruined settlement, but all they had managed to stumble across was a lot of rats. The mutts were huge; the size of small dogs, and had chased the Careers out of the settlement. The vicious vermin would have devoured them had the three of them not been so fast. They had escaped with only a few bites on their legs.

When they reach the wide clearing of the Cornucopia, the girls are out of breath. Glory is particularly good at long-distance running, so he just looks frustrated.

"We've been hunting all day and haven't found that bitch," moans Glory. "Or anyone, for that matter!"

Flic is equally as frustrated, and Laycie hasn't quite been the same since the death of her district partner. The tension between the Careers is building; as of the last cannon there are only eight tributes remaining. The Capitol would no doubt be interviewing the families of the final eight tonight.

The District 2 girl ties her dark hair back in frustration, before her eyes fix on something in the distance. She points and the Careers look at the vast column of smoke rising into the miserably sky.

Their spirits rise as they realise they might actually make a kill today. Laycie's smile returns as she says "maybe it's Azalea!"

They make their way towards the source of the smoke; it is at least an hour or two's journey. The Careers had been bickering all morning, and have no energy to continue. Their thoughts wander as they walk in silence.

Glory thinks of his home in District 1. His family is one of the most beautiful and rich in the district; they all have golden blonde hair, tan skin and green eyes. His nine-year old sister Splendour is sweet and kind, and thinking of her brings him motivation to return home as Victor. His father has a well-paid job and had paid for Glory's entry into the training academy. He had trained hard for the Games to make his father proud, but the real reason he volunteered this year was his mother. She was known as the most beautiful woman in the district, and had been taken to the Capitol to join the President's harem of mistresses. The very thought of that vile old man even touching his mother angered Glory to the core. He would win these Games, and use his power as Victor to bring his mother home.

Flic's thoughts do not linger on her home in District 2 for long. She had a family, but she did not care much for them. She had a dark, violent mind and couldn't wait to volunteer for the Hunger Games and unleash her built-up rage. She had trained with a large variety of weapons, but her preference was the spear. She felt powerful when she held it, like a god. In her head, she knew she would win.

Laycie was from District 4, the least successful of the Career districts. She had been raised to enter the Games. Her parents had been consumed by the power of the Capitol and believed the Hunger Games were the best thing that ever happened to humanity. Laycie thought the Games were sick, but her parents had forced her to train from a young age. She showed phenomenal skill, and was undeniably beautiful. Her parents had told Laycie often that her beauty would earn her sponsors and support from the audience. She had to volunteer; her whole life had been about these Games. Besides, her life would have been made unlivable if she hadn't. She knew from the moment she volunteered that a flirtatious edge would work in her favour, and she desperately wants to return home to District 4 as Victor. It's beautiful there. She loved to spend time by the sea, admiring the view. She even collected seashells to remind her of the beauty of nature.

The Careers' thoughts cease to wander as they reach the source of the smoke. They see what is left of a large pile of supplies or something, all burnt to a crisp. The blackened mass still smokes, but the flames are extinguished. The three of them scout the area before regrouping.

Glory curses. "Nobody."

"Whoever it was must have left a while ago", sighs Laycie. "It's getting dark now, too."

"Yeah," begins Flic. "It'll be too dark to make it back to the Cornucopia. We should just sleep here."

"Yeah, you girls get some beauty sleep", says Glory in a patronising tone. "I'll take the first watch."

"No, it's okay," argues Flic. "I'll take watch. You sleep."

"No," says Glory, a little too forcefully. "I'll do it."

The two look at each other suspiciously, and in a split second they sense each other's plan. They had reached the final eight, and are both planning to betray the alliance. Flic takes her spear and thrusts it towards Glory, but he diverts the weapon away from his body with the curved blade of his sickle.

Laycie realises what is happening and flees into the forest. She wasn't going to risk taking on two Careers at once, even though she was confident in her abilities.

Flic retaliates by swinging her spear around and slamming it into the District 1 boy's leg, causing him to fall to the side. Before she can thrust it into his stomach, he springs on his hands and does a backflip before landing flawlessly on his feet. He charges at her, and performs a choreographed twist before extending his leg and kicking her square in the stomach.

She roars in anger before throwing the spear at him. He tries to knock it aside with his sickle before it impales his chest, but it manages to cut open a large gash in his side.

Rage fills his heart and he begins swinging his sickle around violently, performing strange twists and movements as he does. She dodges each strike expertly, before Glory's sickle slices across her leg. Blinding pain causes Flic to hesitate for a moment, allowing Glory to decapitate the District 2 girl. Her cannon booms through the night and her body falls limp to the ground. Her black-haired head rolls to a halt in the ash. The alliance is over.

Glory wipes his head and scans his surroundings before he hears the anthem fill the arena. The Capitol seal materialises in the night sky.

THE FALLEN

District 2 – Flic

District 5 – Julius

District 7 – Yew

Glory counts; seven remaining tributes. He could win this easily. He got the best training score.

The searing pain in his side interrupts his self-assured thoughts. His jersey is soaked in his own blood. He strips off the clothes on his top half, exposing his toned, muscular body. The Capitol would love that. The wound is deep, and needs attention or he will bleed out.

He hears the tinkling of a bell as a silver parachute falls from the sky and lands beside him. He opens it to find a large tub of medicine inside, as well as a single chocolate truffle. He takes the truffle and eats it seductively, making sure to moan appreciatively and lick his lips. He winks for the audience and blows a kiss into the darkness, sure that it would result in many screaming girls in the Capitol.

He applies the medicine to his wound. It stings intensely for a few seconds before soothing waves spread through his body. He has seen this medicine in previous Hunger Games recaps, and expects the wound to be more or less healed by morning.


	5. Grave Danger

Siri sits on a high branch in the pitch-black forest, shaking from coldness and fear. The fallen tributes appear in the night sky. An image of Flic, the District 2 girl, smirks down at her first. Another Career tribute dead. Siri guesses that the Career pack had turned on each other. This usually happens near the end of the Games. So both the tributes from 1 and Laycie from 4 are still alive, and most likely working alone. The pale District 3 girl sighs, twirling a knife in her hand; she has three more sheathed in her belt. She knows even these knives don't give her much of an advantage over the Career tributes. She knows she has to avoid them for as long as possible and hope they take each other out. However, she needs a plan.

Julius's face smiles down at her after Flic's. Seeing the face of the boy she had murdered brings tears to her eyes, which she quickly wipes away. She whispers an apology to his family in District 5. Siri hadn't asked for this. She doesn't want to be here. But she wants so badly to leave this place; this hell. Yew's face shines down soon after. Another victim of the Capitol.

Aside from the Careers, the only remaining tributes are the boys from 9 and 11, and her district partner. She doesn't know much about Garner or Valencio's fighting styles or where in the arena they are located, but they are bigger and stronger than her. She needs to utilise stealth and surprise in order to defeat them. She considers her district partner, Static. She had left him unconscious for the Careers to find, but his face had not been included in the list of the fallen tributes. He is still alive. However, she had left him weaponless and without food, so she doubts he will be much of a threat. She remembers he is clever, though. But Siri is too, and if she is to come out of these horrific Hunger Games alive, she is going to have to utilise every morsel of brain power. She is fuelled with adrenaline and doubts she'll be able to sleep, so she remains hidden in her tree and contemplates a strategy in the darkness.

Meanwhile, Laycie is still running. She sprints through the trees, trying to avoid the branches which frequently scratch across her beautiful face. It's very dark, but she continues running to get as far away from Glory as she can. The Career alliance is broken, and he is dangerous. She is heading for the mountain, as she knows Azalea from 1 could be anywhere in the forest and doesn't want an arrow through the heart when day breaks. She is out of breath, and the air is freezing. She realises she can see the white clouds of her breath materialising in front of her face. She looks up to see the clouds above in the vast darkness of the sky are rolling away, exposing a large and ominous full moon.

The white globe floating in the night sky is eerie. It lacks the craters and imperfections that she remembers seeing in the moon at night, back home in District 4. This is a synthetic moon in a synthetic night, casting a mysterious light over this synthetic arena. Everything around her was created by the Capitol. The light from the moon casts eerie shadows over her surroundings as she runs, and the sinister branches of the dead trees look like the fingers of a monster trying to grab her.

Laycie hears a loud, animalistic howl coming from behind her, a fair distance away. She stops running and twirls around, unsheathing a couple of knives. Her blue eyes scan the area and her ears prick; she senses danger.

A large beast walks through the black boughs of the forest towards her. It looks like a wolf or some other savage dog, but it walks on its hind legs like a man. The fur covering its muscular body is black and bristly. At the end of its arms are huge, fingered hands which extend into long, vicious claws that glint in the moonlight. They are at least twice as long as Laycie's knives, and she gulps. She looks into its black eyes, and it stares back aggressively at its prey over its hairy, elongated nose. The District 4 girl wields her blades defensively, knees bent, causing the wolf-man to snarl, exposing large fangs that drip with saliva. She has no idea what this monster is, but she knows it's a creation of the Capitol and she knows it's dangerous.

The beast raises its head and howls into the night, the high-pitched call chilling Laycie right to the bones. It begins charging towards her, and raises an arm ready to swoop down on the blonde girl with its claws. She takes a step backwards and throws a knife aimed for the beast's heart, but it effortlessly flicks the blade away with the claws of one hand. She panics and throws another knife, which misses completely. The beast is now mere paces away.

The beast roars and slashes down with its long, sharp claws, but Laycie jumps to the side and bounces on her hands before flipping and landing on her feet. She unsheathes two more daggers and looks the beast in the eyes, before roaring herself.

She sprints towards the beast, and dodges the swipe of its arm by stepping to the side. She twirls around behind the beast before leaping into the air and stabbing into its arched, hairy back with her two knives. The werewolf howls in pain and she kicks off from its back and performs a backflip before landing in a crouched position. She flicks her wavy blonde hair away from her face and smirks.

The beast is wounded, but not mortally. The savage monster is too large for two tiny blades to do much damage in the chest region. It turns to face Laycie and roars in anger, bearing its fangs. It charges at her again. The ground shakes each time the beast's paws make impact. Laycie searches frantically for an advantage.

She rolls to the side, avoiding another vicious swipe of its claws, before quickly climbing the bough of a nearby tree, a knife in her mouth. The beast swipes again, slashing across her leg. Laycie yells out in agony, causing her to cut her tongue on the blade, but she continues climbing until she reaches a branch. She stands on the branch, blood pouring down her leg. She takes the dagger from her mouth and spits blood. In the tree, she is eye level with the werewolf, and the two snarl at each other.

Without warning, she sends a dagger soaring through the air. It embeds itself in the chest of the wolf-man, causing it to howl in agony and despair. It begins flailing its arms around, claws slashing towards Laycie. She ducks on the branch to avoid the blows, before roaring and leaping savagely through the air, dagger raised above her head. She lands on the werewolf's shoulder, its fangs snapping at her face. Before it can bite at Laycie, she brings her knife down through its head. She roars, before bringing the dagger up and back down. She stabs again and again, before the beast squeals in despair and falls to the ground. Laycie falls with the dead werewolf and collides with the ashen forest floor, hard.

She groans with pain and checks the wound in her leg. Blood is flowing heavily from the painful gash in her leg, and she winces. She gathers her knives and cuts most of the material from her leggings, leaving only a few inches covering her upper thighs. If she has to make a bandage, she might as well look sexy. This is a television show after all. She wraps layers of her leggings around the gash in her leg. She goes on to tear off the lower half of her jersey, exposing her lean, tanned stomach. She ties the material around her upper leg and tightens it to restrict the flow of blood to her wound. It's the best she can do for now, and she hopes the wound settles soon. Pain courses through her leg and she fights the tears forming in her eyes.

The reality of death collides with Laycie. She had never really appreciated the odds of the Hunger Games until now. She had been raised to win, and had never considered an alternative situation. Until now. She can't let that happen. She only has to think of home for inspiration; her friends, her handsome boyfriend, the beautiful oceans of District 4. She remembers that her flirtatious façade will help her acquire sponsors, and resists the urge to roll her eyes. She needs to win.

Laycie sighs, before stroking her thigh and stretching her neck. "Oh, I need something white and creamy for my body, you handsome Capitol guys. I need it so bad…"

She only has to run her hand up and down her toned, slender legs for a few moments before she hears the familiar tinkling sound of a Hunger Games parachute. The silver package lands between her legs, and she picks it up.

She winks for the audience and widens her legs a little. "Thanks, babe."

She opens the tub of medicine to find a thick, creamy white substance. She removes the makeshift bandages from her leg and applies the entire tub of medicine to her bloody wound. It tingles, and she sighs with pleasure. The pain begins to slowly subside, and for the first time she feels gratitude towards the Capitol. She decides to wait where she is throughout the night to allow the wound to heal. She takes a knife and cuts open the top of her jersey to expose the top of her cleavage, and smirks to herself. She'll give the viewers what they want so she can go home.

Garner and Valencio have taken refuge in a cave at the base of the mountain. Neither of them can sleep since Garner informed Valencio that Azalea, the girl from District 1, is likely still hunting Garner. Valencio sits at the mouth of the cave, staring into the moon which floats in the sky. The pair of boys had heard the howl earlier and wondered what it was, but no cannon fired and it was far away in the distance. A tear runs down Valencio's tanned face and falls onto his sword as he thinks of his family, and how it's unlikely he will ever see them again. He knew Garner had younger sisters like him, and they had both lost their district partners to the Careers.

"Hey, Garner," he begins. "If I don't make it, I want you to win. You're a good guy, you deserve to return home."

This catches Garner off-guard, but he returns the sentiment. He doesn't like to think like that, but Valencio is right. There can only be one winner.

"I know we aren't exactly contenders," Garner goes on, "but we've made it this far. We have a chance."

"I know, but if there's one thing I want to achieve in this arena, it's to avenge Yew and Tessa's deaths."

The two boys discuss the Careers. The pair agree that Laycie from District 4 is a tribute to be feared, and avoided. They have no personal vendetta against her, in fact she seemed friendly enough in her interview. They both despise Glory, the arrogant District 1 boy. However, he got a score of 11 in training, and Garner had had a near miss with him in the bloodbath. Another tribute to be avoided, if possible.

That leaves Azalea, Glory's vicious and beautiful District partner. The outlying districts hate District 1 most of all, as they are the richest of the districts and their tributes are usually ruthless murderers. Memories of Yew's final moments flash across Valencio's mind. Azalea stepping out of the fog through the trees. Her sinister smile. The arrow soaring through the air. He fights back tears as he mourns the little girl's loss, and his thoughts turn to vengeance. Garner also remembers Azalea delivering Tessa's cruel and evil death blow.

Garner stares out into the night, his green eyes glinting in the moonlight and harsh with anger. They will hunt down the blonde murderess from District 1, and they will end her life.

Both of the tributes from District 1 sleep in the forest, kilometers apart. Their arrogance led them to believe that no one would attempt to approach them, especially during the night. Luckily for them, this is the case. For now.

Glory's chest wound is more or less healed, and he lies peacefully on the ashen ground. He dreams of glory, admiration and the Victor's crown. He dreams of the return of his mother, who was taken against her will to the Capitol to be used by the President. He dreams of his little sister, Splendour. He dreams of making his father proud.

Azalea also lies dormant in the forest, although she does not dream. Her sleep is dark and silent. Her blonde hair lies haphazardly on the miserable ash which litters the forest floor, and her silver bow lies by her side, still gripped in her pale hands. Her brother's golden ring glows in the moonlight, a symbol of his victory in the Hunger Games and her desire to emulate his glory.

Static runs frantically through the forest, and has been all night. He had awoken after being knocked out by his district partner, Siri. Why had she spared him? Why hadn't she just killed him? These questions race through his mind as he races through the dead trees.

His heart is pounding, and he is in a state of panic. He has no weapons, no food and no clue. He has no idea how he even made it this far in the Hunger Games, but he is too scared of death to give up. He is making his way to the Cornucopia in the hope that the Careers aren't there and he might find a weapon or useful object he could make use of.

He can see that the edge of the forest is approaching, and he runs faster. Day begins to break, although the light in the arena was far from bright. Through the trees he can make out the graveyard he remembers seeing in the initial bloodbath, meaning he is close to the Cornucopia. As he emerges from among the thin, black boughs of the forest, a strange sight causes him to stop.

A black cat sits motionless on the ground before him, its eerie green eyes staring intently back at the stalky 15-year-old. Static wonders briefly if it is a mutt, but the cat simply stands up and strides slowly away from him, seemingly beckoning the boy to follow.

The cat weaves its way through the graveyard. Static notices that there are twenty-four graves of cracked, grey stone. Each gravestone has a small, unlit candle at its base and, more disturbingly, the name of a tribute from this year's Hunger Games engraved into it. Tendrils of fog creep between the cold, hard headstones and the thick layer of ash covering the ground is disturbed with each of his tenuous steps.

"Creepy…" whispers Static, his heart racing.

The cat stops before one particular grave and sits, staring at the boy from District 3 once again with its bright green eyes. Static tentatively approaches, and his heart stops as he reads the text on the grave.

STATIC FARADAY

DISTRICT 3

The sight of his own grave almost causes him to scream, but he doesn't want to attract other tributes. His heart is pounding in his chest, and he backs away from his headstone. Why would the Capitol put that there? Why are any of these graves here?

He hears the sound of grinding stone to his right and turns to face the source. The candle in front of one of the graves is lit, and a slab of ground is sliding out of place to reveal a large, rectangular hole. Clouds of ash fall down into the darkness.

Static gasps as he sees a hand reach up and grasp the edge of the ground. Another hand appears, and a figure begins to pull itself up from out of the grave. The boy is about to run when he notices the figure's familiar dark hair and and slim build. It's Julius. The figure standing before him is his friend and former ally in the Hunger Games.

There are black, congealed slash marks across his neck, and instead of the familiar blue eyes which Static remembers, this Julius-figure has cloudy white expanses with no pupils. Its flesh is pale and grey, and looks dead.

Static stands there, frozen to the spot. His friend is standing before him. But Julius died! What is happening? Confused, frantic thoughts are running through his mind, when he sees something at one of the graves at the back. A candle has lit there, illuminating the sinister carvings on the harsh, grey headstone.

ALEANNAH BANKS  
DISTRICT 12

The ground before the crazy girl's grave begins to shift, and a black coffin is raised out of the expanse before tipping its contents onto the ashen ground. Several limbs and a mangled torso fall with a thud. To Static's horror, the limbs begin to twitch. One of the arms begins pulling itself in his direction, and dread fills the pit of his stomach.

Candles begin lighting in front of more of the graves, and the grinding noise indicates that more graves are opening. Static's heart is about to explode out of his chest. What is happening?

More figures begin to climb out of their graves. The girl from 7, the boy from 10… Their skin all dull and cold, their tribute outfits matted with congealed blood from whichever wounds they had sustained in the Games.

The Julius figure reaches an arm out and begins stumbling towards him, his milky white eyes staring sightlessly at Static. Julius's mouth opens and lets out a chilling hiss, teeth bared.

Static screams and turns to run, but he is in the middle of this damned graveyard. Figures are blocking every exit. Each of the fallen tributes are now walking towards him, their arms outstretched and their mouths emitting animalistic groans. The girl from District 2's grave is treading through the ash with a bloody stump of a neck. Her dark-haired head lies on the ground, growling and snapping viciously.

Static frantically searches for an escape, and sees the two little kids from 8 blocking the path to his right. The little blonde girl has an axe buried in her head, and the boy has bite marks on his neck. Static sprints towards them, fuelled with adrenaline and fear.

As he attempts to shove past them, the ghoul-boy grabs Static's arm and sinks his teeth into his flesh. Static lets out a blood-curdling scream and pushes Thread to the ground before punching Felicia's corpse in the face. A cold hand grips his shoulder and he turns to see the boy from District 12 hissing right in his face, his breath the smell of rotting corpse.

Static shoves the black-haired corpse to the ground and feels something grab his ankle. He looks down to see a flailing arm gripping his leg like a vice, its bloody end dragging in the ash. At least a dozen of these walking corpses are closing in on Static and he screams in terror. He can't see a way out.

Yew from 7 lurches forward and grabs his leg. The fallen Careers grab the boy's shoulders and tackle him to the ground. More of Static's screams permeate the entire arena as he struggles to break free from these monsters. More ghouls kneel over the boy and grab his flailing limbs.

The undead Julius climbs over the bodies, hissing and growling. Static is howling in pain as some of the undead tributes are biting into his limbs and abdomen and tearing off chunks of flesh. He stares into Julius's sightless eyes, tears streaming down his face. His former ally growls one last time before leaning in, his teeth dripping decayed saliva.

Static's final scream of horror is silenced as Julius's walking corpse rips open his throat with his teeth. The fallen tributes begin to devour the District 3 boy as his cannon fires. His blood drips from their decaying faces as they rise again, leaving Static a bloody mess on the ground.

The six remaining tributes all jerk to attention throughout the arena at the sound of Static's cannon as his freckled face grins down at them in the grey sky. It is early in the morning, and this is a reminder of the peril they face. Glory grins as he realises he is so close to that coveted Victor crown. Siri from 3 simply frowns as she wonders who it was that died, and what competition she has left to face.

"Attention, tributes!" booms the voice of Antonius Templesmith. "I hope you've all been enjoying yourselves in this year's Hunger Games!"

Garner rolls his eyes. What an ass. The tributes listen intently, knowing an important announcement is likely to follow.

"As of that last cannon fire," the announcer for the Hunger Games continues, "you are all in, shall we say…" He allows himself a sinister chuckle. "…grave danger."

Valencio's dark eyes meet his ally's in panic as they continue listening.

"You may have noticed that the arena this year contains a graveyard. Those of you who are more attentive may have noticed that there is one grave for each of this year's tributes…"

Siri's eyes squint with concentration. She had noticed that on the first day, and had been worried about the purpose of the graves from then on.

"The corpses of your fallen tributes have been injected with a serum engineered in the Capitol…" Antonius can barely contain the excitement in his voice.

"As of the last cannon, they have now been raised from the dead. They walk among you in the arena as flesh-eating undead often referred to in the Old World as 'zombies'."

A sense of dread is shared among all six remaining tributes. The fallen tributes have come back to life. It's like the Hunger Games are starting all over again.

"One more thing…" the announcer goes on. "Before the Games began, each of you was injected with a dormant version of this 'zombie serum'. As of that last cannon, the serum has been activated. In one hour, the serum will assimilate control of your brain and bodily functions. In simple terms, you will die in one hour, and become like your fallen tributes: zombies."

Siri is wracked with fear. This is not something she had anticipated. She doesn't like not being in control, and she certainly doesn't want to end up dead. Or undead.

"But wait…" Antonio's loud, booming voice cuts through the deathly silence of the arena. "We in the Capitol like to think of ourselves as gracious hosts."

Garner struggles to stop the rage he feels from contorting his handsome facial features.

"There is a feast at the Cornucopia. At this spectacular event, there will be a cure. If you drink this cure before the hour is up, you will be safe from the effects of the zombie serum. If not… Well, that'd be a dead shame." He chuckles again. "There will be one cure available for each remaining District."

Siri has already leapt from her tree and started running through the forest, knives in hand.

"That's not all, folks!" Antonius exclaims. "There will also be a large variety of treats, candies and goodies for those of you who attend. Good luck, you have one hour…"

The tributes gather what supplies they have and begin sprinting in the direction of the Cornucopia. Undead could be around any corner, lurking in the darkness.

"Trick or treat!" booms Antonius Templesmith one last time. "And may the odds be ever in your favour…"


	6. No More Room In Hell

One hour. The six remaining tributes have one hour left to live. One hour until they turn into mindless, flesh-eating undead monsters. One hour to make it to the Cornucopia and prevent this terrifying twist from playing out. As soon as the sadistic Gamemaker's announcement ended, the tributes grab what they have and start running as fast as they can from their various positions throughout the arena. The dim, grey light and ominous fog enveloping the arena make it difficult to see very far, so there is the constant threat of the undead tributes appearing out of nowhere.

Garner and Valencio, the allies from Districts 9 and 11, sprint as fast as they can from the cave at the base of the mountain they had been sleeping in. The boys haven't spoken a word to each other since the terrifying announcement. They don't need to. They have to get to the Cornucopia. They have to drink their cures, or they are going to die. Garner lets his hatred of the Capitol and their cruel Hunger Games fuel him to run faster. Their swords are unsheathed, in case of any unwanted surprises.

Siri, the brown-haired girl from District 3, had started running even before the announcement was finished. She might appear to be the weakest tribute, but she is cunning and clever. The Capitol viewers are also now privy to the fact that she is a lethal murderess, unbeknown to her fellow tributes. Her fear drives her faster, and her mind is racing. She considers the inevitable bloodbath at the feast, the dangers of the risen corpses and the remaining tributes. The last cannon had marked the death of her district partner. While she is glad she won't have any competition for her district's available cure, she is worried that she has so many strong tributes left to face. She feels some sorrow for Static, too. While the pair had never agreed to form an alliance, he'd seemed friendly enough before the-

Siri slams into something. Her mind had been wandering, and she hadn't been paying attention as she sprinted through the dark forest. Her dark eyes snap up to find a figure with bright red hair and pale, grey skin stumbling towards her. She thinks he is the boy from District 10, or he used to be. This is a zombie, and its jaws are snapping at her face as it lets out vicious, bloodthirsty groans.

She fights the urge to scream, and slams the palm of her hand into the ghoul tribute's outstretched arm, causing it to snap backwards. She launches her foot at his knee, snapping his leg and resulting in him falling to the ground. She quickly kneels, avoiding the grasp of the zombie's other flailing arm, and slashes two knives across the dead red-head's throat. Black, congealed blood oozes out from the wound.

The groans are silenced, but the disgusting corpse keeps writhing at the pale-skinned girl. She looks alarmed and confused, looking at the wound she just inflicted. Why won't he die?! That's when it hits her. He's already dead. She looks down at the boy's chest to see a large mass of dried blood, presumably from the wound that killed him in the initial bloodbath. Whatever the Capitol used on the bodies of the fallen tributes, it reanimates them despite their wounds. What's making them move?

As Jackson's animated corpse lurches forward, he attempts to hiss and black, rotten blood splatters out across Siri's face. Before he can sink his teeth into her, she stabs her knife down through his skull. The red-headed zombie falls to the ground and ceases to move. The District 3 girl smirks to herself. She's figured out how to kill them.

She wipes the rotting fluid from her face and fights the urge to cry at the horror of what just occurred. She can't cry, though. She can't show any signs of weakness. She plans to be the Victor of this year's Hunger Games, and she plans to be everything the sick, cruel Capitol looks for in a Victor.

Arms grab her from behind. Before she even has to think about it, she thrusts her elbow backwards into the chest of her attacker before whipping around and thrusting her knife straight between their eyes. The figure falls to the ground. No cannon fires, and a quick analysis of the body shows that it was another zombie and not a living tribute. It doesn't make a difference now. She has to kill to go home.

She doesn't recognize the blonde girl's corpse, but notes that her entire body is covered in deep slashes. She must have been a bloodbath tribute. At least now her body will finally be sent home, and her family can mourn in peace. She feels pity, but can't express it without appearing weak. The sixteen-year-old shakes her long, brown hair out of her face and begins running, knives at the ready. The minutes are trickling away. She has to get to the Cornucopia.

Laycie runs quickly without the weight of most of her clothes slowing her down. She had cut her trousers and jersey into a pair of very short shorts and a revealing top. Her tanned, toned stomach and legs flex as she sprints through the forest. Twigs and branches scratch across her beautiful face and catch in her long waves of golden blonde hair. She has to get to that cure. There is no way she is turning into some gross walking corpse. She remembers that she will have no competition for District 4's cure, since Azalea had killed her district partner. Or so she thought.

Cool determination spreads over Laycie's face as she runs faster and faster. A short, dark-haired figure of a girl stumbles towards her in the distance, and the 17-year-old sends a knife soaring through the air and right through the figure's eye. Bullseye. Just like at the training academy back in District 4, where everything was safe, and it was just about skill and glory. Not like here. This is a matter of life and death. She grabs the knife from the fallen zombie's head as she runs past.

"Gross," she sighs, wiping the congealed blood off the blade onto the material of her shorts, of which there is very little.

A brilliant smile flashes across her face as she realises she's at the edge of the forest, and the Cornucopia is in sight. She emerges from the sinister branches of the black forest and sprints across the clearing. A giant orange pumpkin has replaced the Cornucopia, and it has a creepy face carved into it. The features etched into the ribbed orange surface glow from the inside, as if lit by a flame.

A long table stands on the ashen floor, covered in masses of sticky grey cobwebs. Small candles mark the corners and cast an ominous glow on the table's contents. Five black cauldrons line the table, each marked with a different number relating to the districts of the remaining tributes: 1, 3, 4, 9 and 11. Clouds of fog bubble out from the strange, curved bowl and billow out onto the table. The cures!

She lays her knives on the table and reaches for District 4's cauldron. She smirks, knowing she is the first tribute to make it to the feast. Girls can do anything guys can do, and they can do it better. She brings the vessel to her lips and gulps down the deep purple liquid it contains. It tastes sweet, and the fog tickles her nose. She sets the cauldron back down on the table and smiles, knowing that the zombie serum she had been unknowingly injected with is now deactivated. She briefly considers knocking over the other cures to eliminate the competition, but knows that the Gamemakers would not approve. Laycie may not be the favourite to win; she has no idea how the betting odds are going. She doesn't want some sort of Gamemaker punishment aimed her way.

She takes her knives and sheathes them in her belt, setting her sea blue eyes upon the much larger cauldron in front of the giant pumpkin. It lies on its side, and is overflowing with colourful treats. Beside it lies a large crate of water with dozens of blood red apples floating on the surface. She allows her hunger to get the better of her and grabs a handful of the candies and a few apples before stuffing them in her backpack. She takes a cherry flavoured lollipop and begins to suck on it, licking her lips appreciatively for the audience and winking. She laughs and takes another handful of candy. Why not, right?

"I think that's enough, fat ass," sneers a female voice behind her. Laycie twirls around to see the blonde District 1 girl, Azalea, aiming an arrow at her. A sinister smile spreads across her delicate features, and her grey eyes glare at the District 4 girl.

There has always been a rivalry between the two girls. Both being attractive, blonde Careers, the Capitol had pitted the two against each other from the start. One of the viewer polls even asked Capitol citizens which of the girls they thought was more beautiful. Laycie thought this was disgusting. And pointless, of course she is more beautiful. Look at that pathetic District 1 girl's hair! It's so silvery-blonde that it is practically grey, and it's as flat and lackluster as her performance was in training. The rivalry and tension between the two blondes has all been leading to this moment.

"That's rich, coming from you," laughs Laycie. "When you die, I wonder if it'll take two hovercrafts to get your body off the ground!"

Rage contorts Azalea's porcelain features and she releases the arrow.

Laycie dodges the arrow effortlessly and cartwheels to the side, unsheathing her knives as she lands. Her tanned, toned body is poised for combat, and she smirks at her rival. It's on.

The District 4 girl sprints towards Azalea as she begins to string another arrow. She fires it, and Laycie twists her body so the arrow misses her slender, exposed stomach by millimetres. Panic crosses the District 1 girl's face as Laycie is a few steps away. She doesn't have time to string another arrow.

Laycie bounces on the ground, jumping high into the air and performing an impressive somersault. As she comes out of her mid-air roll, she raises her knives above her head, ready to kill. Azalea raises her bow defensively, and as the two blonde girls impact, Azalea thrusts the bow powerfully at Laycie's arms to prevent the strikes. She knocks Laycie to the ground, who then rebounds and throws a knife aimed at Azalea's head.

Azalea effortlessly twirls the bow like a baton and knocks the knife aside. Laycie growls and tackles her to the ground. She slashes viciously at Azalea's face with her knives, but she dodges the strikes by swinging her head. One swipe of the lethal silver blade takes a large chunk of Azalea's silver blonde hair off with it.

The District 1 girl looks horrified. "Not my hair, you bitch!"

Azalea's kicks Laycie off her with rage, and she rolls over on top. The girls wrestle aggressively on the ashen floor, and Azalea unsheathes a knife of her own.

Unnoticed by the fighting blondes, Siri creeps out from behind the giant pumpkin and grabs her cure, gulping it down quickly. The pale District 3 girl drags the small, empty cauldron through the pile of candy, filling it to the brim with treats. She grabs an apple, her eyes darting around before checking that the fighting Careers still hadn't noticed her. They hadn't. She flees soundlessly from the scene, taking a bite from the apple and smirking.

"Get off me, bitch!" Laycie growls. The two girls continue rolling around in the dirt, taking vicious stabs at each other. Laycie pins Azalea down, her golden waves of hair falling down over the girl. Laycie's usual friendly demeanor was gone, and her eyes were bloodthirsty. She glances at the helpless District 1 girl's token as she struggles to break free, the ring that belonged to her brother, last year's Victor. It has a lion on it.

"Funny, your ring has a lion on it," growls Laycie. "They're meant to represent bravery, but you're just a pathetic little coward."

She raises her knife with vengeance, and brings it down through Azalea's heart. A look of shock and pain is frozen on her face as Laycie leans down to whisper angrily into her ear, "That's for killing Emerald."

Azalea chokes, coughing up blood, as a tear trickles down her delicate face. Blood flows heavily from the wound in her chest as Laycie vengefully removes the knife from her heart.

"I didn't kill Emerald…" she coughs. Her grey eyes focus on something behind Laycie. "He did."

As Azalea's cannon fires and her delicate face materialises in the sky, Laycie whips around and jumps to her feet to see the allies from 9 and 11 running towards the table. Garner, the black-haired District 9 boy with the piercing green eyes and muscular frame, grabs his cure and gulps it down as Valencio reaches the table. Laycie throws a knife at his head. The tanned District 11 boy grabs his district's cauldron and quickly brings it up to shield his face from the blade just in time. The knife falls to the ground, along with the contents of his cauldron.

Valencio curses as Laycie throws another knife. It hits his arm and he yells out, but Garner grabs his other arm and the 17-year-olds begin to run. Laycie is about to send a knife into his back when a pair of arms grabs her from behind. Their iron grip pulls her down to the ground, and she stabs at the figure over her shoulder. She feels teeth biting at her hair, and she screams.

After struggling for a few moments, she breaks free and turns ready to end her attacker's life. What she sees makes her heart stop. Her attacker is Azalea.

The District 1 girl's bloody corpse has reanimated and is growling viciously, her arms clawing at Laycie. She feels immense pity and regret as she sends her knife between Azalea's eyes, killing her a second time. The blonde corpse falls to the ground, and Laycie kneels beside her, gently closing her eyelids and whispering an apology.

"I'm sorry, Azalea," she sighs. "I always secretly admired you, and I enjoyed our rivalry. I was always a little bit jealous of you. You're so beautiful and brave. I'll never forget you."

A tear falls from Laycie's beautiful, tanned face and splashes on Azalea's cold, porcelain skin. She spends a couple of minutes tying a beautiful braid in her former ally's hair, before retrieving her knives. She starts running, her half-naked body athletic and powerful. She enters the forest in pursuit of the boys from the outlying districts.

"You've got five minutes, tributes!" Antonius Templesmith's voice booms throughout the arena. "Then those of you who have not consumed your cure will be in for a nasty surprise. We're all dying to see what happens…"

The announcer's sinister cackle echoes spookily. "Good luck," he continues. "May the odds be ever in your favour."

Glory emerges from the edge of the black forest, a rare look of panic on his face. He sprints in the direction of the giant pumpkin in the middle of the clearing, where the cures and food are located. The curved blade of his unsheathed sickle is caked in the dirty black substance from an incident with a couple of zombies earlier.

He reaches the table, swiping District 1's cauldron from the table gratefully. He was afraid that in the time it took to reach the cure, his bitch of a district partner would have taken it. He gulps down the sweet liquid and sighs.

He doesn't have a moment to catch his breath before he sees a tall, dark-skinned figure stumbling towards him. It's Irelia, the girl from District 11 he had killed a few days ago. He smirks and starts talking to her, perfectly aware that she won't respond.

"Hey, gorgeous," the blonde Career laughs. "How you doing?"

He swaggers slowly over to the reanimated tribute, continuing his monologue. "It's a shame I had to kill you, babe. You're quite the looker."

As if on cue, she starts growling and hissing with her arms outstretched. Her dark skin makes her milky, undead eyes look twice as disturbing.

"I would've liked to use another weapon on you." He thrusts his hips forward a couple of times and bites his lip, winking for the audience. The flirtatious glint vanishes from his green eyes and he raises his sickle.

He begins slashing the corpse of Irelia apart. No matter how many times he strikes, parts of the fallen tribute keep writhing and grasping at him. Arms pull themselves across the ground, her torso wriggles in the ash, her head snaps viciously. He kicks her head away from him, confused and scared.

He turns around when he hears moaning and hissing coming from behind him. A horde of fallen tributes is moving hauntingly towards the handsome, out of breath Career. He takes note of a few; his former allies, the boy who he killed in the bloodbath, a little girl with an arrow in her head. They shuffle towards him with their arms outstretched.

More groans appear behind him, and he swivels around to see that more zombies have appeared and are closing in around him. There are at least a dozen. The two smallest undead are holding hands, and the girl has an axe lodged in her skull.

Glory wields his sickle defensively and flicks his golden blonde hair out of his eyes.

"It's go time!"

He begins performing a routine of twists, flips, kicks and slashes with his sickle. The horror of the situation leaves his mind as he imagines himself back in District 1's training academy. Performing his choreographed routine for his trainer, slashing dummies to pieces and receiving praise from spectators. Arms, heads and legs are sliced off, torsos are ripped open and bodies are mutilated. His routine comes to a finish, and he performs a standing somersault before landing effortlessly on his feet. He takes a bow, and opens his eyes. The wall of zombies has been decimated.

However, each limb, head and torso continues to grasp, twitch and snap. The ring of decaying body parts continues to pull itself towards Glory. An arm grasps the dark hair of one of the disembodied heads and flings it towards Glory. He instinctively catches it, and screams at the sight of Flic's face snapping at him.

Glory falls to the ground in horror, throwing his former ally's head away. Arms begin grasping at Glory's legs and torso, and his arrogant demeanor vanishes to be replaced by fear as he screams. Hack's torso drags itself with one arm over the pile of limbs and body parts and begins snapping his jaw, bloodthirsty.

Meanwhile, Garner and Valencio have stopped in the forest. The tanned District 11 boy removes the dagger from his arm and throws it to the ground in panic. Garner is trying to calm his ally down, but knows that he dropped his cure and there is not much time left until the zombie serum activates.

"It's okay!" hushes Garner. He is tying a bandage around Valencio's wound, fashioned out of material from his sleeve. He struggles to maintain composure. "Maybe it was just a ruse, to get everyone together at the Cornucopia. Get some blood flowing."

"No!" shrieks Valencio. "You saw the tributes. Walking around, dead, but not dead. This is real, this is happening. Oh my god."

The authoritative voice of the Hunger Games announcer rings through the arena once more. "Thirty seconds remaining, tributes. I don't know about you, but I'm dead excited…"

Valencio talks hurriedly to his ally, the panic rising in his voice. "Garner. Listen to me. When I die-"

"But you might not-"

"Quiet!" shouts Valencio. "When I die, and I come back as one of those things... Promise me something. Put me down. Don't let me walk around as one of those … things. Don't let me be a risk to you. Do you promise?"

Tears form in Garner's green eyes, which are filled with fear and grief.

"Try and win, Garner. You deserve it. Take my sword." He sheathes his weapon into Garner's belt. "Thank you. Good luck, friend."

Valencio takes Garner into his arms and hugs him tight, closing his eyes. He thinks of his brothers and sisters in District 11 as his cannon booms.

Garner feels the weight of Valencio's body pull down as he passes on, and carefully lays him down on the forest floor. The District 11 tribute's face is shown in the cold, grey sky. Tears fall down his cheeks and his heart fills with rage. The Capitol did this. The Capitol murdered his friend.

Valencio's eyes open once more, but the friendly brown eyes that once belonged to him have been replaced with cloudy white expanses. His arms begin to twitch, and his mouth opens to let out a slow hiss.

"Valencio…" whispers Garner. His reanimated ally begins to reach out to grab the District 9 boy, and starts groaning viciously. Valencio's corpse grabs Garner's hair, and is about to pull him down and sink his teeth into him when Garner stabs his sword down into his forehead.

The District 11 tribute's body becomes limp again, and Garner weeps for his friend, removing the sword.

Back at the Cornucopia, Glory is screaming with terror as the wall of undead limbs and bodies clamber over each other to tear at him. However, the moment Garner's sword enters Valencio's forehead, the rest of the undead tributes become inanimate once more and cease to move. Glory whimpers for a few more seconds before he realises the danger has passed. He scampers away from the pile of rotting tribute corpses and tries to regain his self-assured composure, but it's too late. The Capitol saw his moment of weakness.

Garner continues to mourn his friend and ally in the depths of the dead forest. He takes Valencio's token in his hands; it's a long ribbon made of red silk. Valencio had told him it belonged to his mother, who had passed away. Garner ties it around his fallen friend's wrist and prays for the safety of Valencio's family.

"Hey babe," a female voice calls out from behind him. He turns his head to see Laycie appear from between the dead boughs of the trees. She wears nothing except her boots, a pair of shorts that are a few inches long and a revealing tank top. She looks good, but she's a Career. They volunteer for this. They're monsters. He looks once more at his fallen comrade and swallows.

"I'm sorry, Valencio."

He stands up and turns to face Laycie. She holds a pair of knives, and has a dark expression on her face. Garner allows his rage to fill him up, and charges at the Career with his sword held out.

Just as the sword is about to enter her chest, Laycie dodges and cartwheels to the side. She bounces off the bough of a tree with her legs before somersaulting and landing on her feet. Garner charges again, slashing his sword. She dodges, and kicks him in the stomach before throwing a knife.

Her blade lodges itself in his stomach. He gasps in pain, and wrenches the dagger from his gut, throwing it aside. He's a goner now, but he won't go down without a fight.

He roars and slashes at Laycie with rage. She twists and ducks to avoid the blows. She doesn't dodge fast enough, and the tip of his sword slices down just below her eye, resulting in a shallow cut on her cheek.

"My face!" she growls. Her looks are what give her an advantage in the arena, and this bastard just tarnished her. This bastard also killed Emerald.

She shrieks with rage and throws her final knife at the wounded boy. It sails straight into his heart, and the dark-haired boy falls to his knees.

Laycie kneels down in front of him, face to face, her lips almost touching his. She takes her blade and twists it, causing Garner to gasp. His green eyes lock with hers, cold and unforgiving, as the blonde whispers coolly the final words he ever hears.

"Goodnight, handsome."

His cannon fires as he falls to the ground. Laycie looks up to see her latest victim's handsome face appear in the sky. She retrieves her knives, looking satisfied, and places a single finger in her mouth. She licks it seductively for the camera and wipes the blood from the cut on her cheek, before beginning to tie a braid in her golden hair. She was used to weaving nets in District 4, and this is the closest thing she has in the arena. It calms her down.

"What can I say?" she says flirtatiously to the viewers, winking. "I like tying knots."

The voice of Antonius Templesmith booms once again throughout the arena.

"Congratulations to the three remaining tributes! You survived our little surprise. Wasn't it just to die for?"

His cruel, disembodied laugh chills the tributes.

"Which of you will be the Victor of the 13th Annual Hunger Games? Do you think you have what it takes?"

The two remaining Careers scoff; of course they have what it takes. Siri tries to look strong and fearless in the boughs of her tree, but her mind is racing. She's up against the two strongest tributes, who have trained for these Games their whole lives.

The vast expanse of miserable grey cloud stretching across the sky suddenly darkens. A blinding flash of lightning strikes down on the giant pumpkin where the Cornucopia used to be. Glory sees the large orange sphere glow bright with electricity as it explodes, leaving chunks of it lying in a mound, burnt to a crisp and riddled with burning embers. Thunder booms throughout the arena, shaking the ground and forest alike. The storm begins.

"Good luck, tributes," concludes the announcer. "And may the odds be ever in your favour!"


	7. The End Is Nigh

Forks of lightning flash across the sky and crashes of thunder boom throughout the arena. The storm has begun. The angry, black clouds cast an ominous darkness over the final day of the 13th Annual Hunger Games. Three tributes remain, each having faced many horrors thrown at them by the Capitol, as well as the twenty-one other tributes. Twice.

Glory, the confident and handsome Career from District 1 who earned an outstanding score of 11 in training, waits at the Cornucopia with his sickle. The storm goes on around him, the remains of the feast at the Cornucopia destroyed by a bolt of lightning. He doesn't run off into the black, dead forest in search of his competition. He knows they will come to him eventually. His arrogance may be his downfall. Tufts of his blonde hair fly haphazardly in the strong winds, and a smirk stretches across his face. This is the moment his whole life has been about. This is his chance to become a Hunger Games victor, bringing pride to his district, his family and earning him the power to bring his mother back from the Capitol, where she is being held as a sex slave to the President.

Laycie, the beautiful blonde Career from District 4 with a wicked ability to throw knives, sits on the forest floor in her revealing attire, allowing herself a moment to sate her hunger. She eats bars of delicious chocolate, heavenly truffles and other Capitol treats which she had gathered at the feast earlier that day. Laycie makes sure to lick her fingers appreciatively, remembering to keep up her seductive façade that has been her strategy throughout the Games. Her blue eyes shine with emotion as her thoughts wander to home, freedom and victory. Her parents had raised her for the Hunger Games and forced her to volunteer. Victory was expected of her, there was no other option. She wants so badly to return home to the beautiful shores of District 4, kiss her handsome boyfriend and embrace her friends again. The life of luxury and glamour that victory would bring her is just an added bonus.

Siri, the clever and tactical girl from District 3, had surprised everyone with her ability to murder. Her strategy to feign weakness so that the other tributes would overlook her has worked beautifully so far. Siri doubts the Careers even know who the third surviving tribute is. She has avoided them since the start of the Games, and anyone who had witnessed her physical lethality is no longer alive. Siri doesn't have much of a home to return to. The Capitol took that from her. They executed her mother for training District 3 citizens in self-defense, a skill which Siri has had to put to use in these sadistic games. The Capitol has imprisoned her father, using his unmatched technological skills for their own gain and threatening to harm Siri if he doesn't comply. She wants to win these Hunger Games not only to secure her survival, but also to free her father and find a way to use her power as Victor to avenge her mother's death.

While Glory has no idea who the mystery surviving tribute is, assuming they are merely just a lucky tribute from an outlying district who has made it through by the skin of their teeth, Laycie remembers the District 3 girl. She had noted her during the interviews, before the Games, as being quite beautiful in a very understated way. Laycie hadn't thought of her as much competition in that department, but loved the pretty golden dress Siri had been wearing which was sparkling with thousands of tiny lights. Laycie had written her off as a bloodbath tribute after seeing her abysmal training score, but realises now that this could have been a tactic. She had seen tributes use that strategy in previous Games. However, training for the Hunger Games is illegal outside of Career districts, so she is forced to place more threat on her former ally, Glory. She twirls one of her knives in her hand as she contemplates how she will end him.

The storm rages on, and Siri sits in the boughs of a tree eating the candy and apples she had obtained at the feast. She knows that, normally, it would be wise to avoid trees during an electrical storm, but this is a synthetic storm created by the Capitol. She is perfectly aware that the Gamemakers would not send a bolt of lightning down on her tree, as that would not make for a very exciting finale. She contemplates a plan, knowing that her only chance of survival is if the two remaining Careers find each other before they find her. The odds are not exactly in her favour. She hasn't received any sponsors throughout the Games, despite her intense hunger, so she is under no illusions about the Capitol's favourites to win. But she doesn't give a damn what the Capitol want.

Laycie finishes eating and leaves her backpack on the ground, knowing she has no need for supplies anymore. The storm makes it clear that the Gamemakers want the finale to happen today, and her backpack will only weigh her down, as well as distract from her revealing altered tribute outfit, consisting of her signature short shorts and tank top. She fastens her two remaining knives into her belt, before hearing the tinkling of a sponsor parachute as the silver package floats to the ground at her feet. She unwraps the cool, rectangular container and her eyes light up at the sight of the gift. The Capitol have sent her a beautiful silver dagger, adorned with a pearl from her district and engraved with her name.

"Laycie Sabrine," she reads aloud. "Remember that name, Panem. I'm going to be your Victor."

Laycie grips her knife defensively at a sound coming from behind her. She can hear the sound of something walking towards her through the boughs of the trees. The darkness hides the approaching figure, and she gets ready to strike. A flash of lightning casts a brief splash of blinding light across the arena, and the approaching figure becomes visible. A large, black horse with glowing red eyes walks slowly and majestically towards the blonde girl, bearing harsh plates of ebony metal over its body that reflect the brief flash of lightning. A figure rides the horse, gripping its reigns with black metal gauntlets. The large, towering figure wears a full suit of the same ebony metal armour, draped with a torn, flowing cape which flails behind him in the storm. Sheathed in his belt is a large metal mace with dozens of lethal spikes projecting from its head, which he then unsheathes and grips in his iron fist. The most disturbing detail of the horse's rider is that he has no head. A sinister, haunting laugh comes from the figure, chilling Laycie to the core.

As the thunder booms, shaking the ground of the dead forest, the rider pulls the reigns of the black horse, causing it to rear up onto its hind legs as another terrifying flash of lightning illuminates the scene. The horse lets out a horrific, animalistic howl and the headless horseman raises his morning star, before the deadly steed comes crashing down and starts to charge towards Laycie.

Laycie takes one of the knives from her belt and sends it sailing towards the rider of the horse, aimed at his heart. The blade clatters uselessly against the rider's metal armour and falls to the ground. Laycie growls frustratedly and sends her other knife soaring through the air, this time towards the horse. It pierces straight through one of the beast's eyes, but it doesn't even flinch. The steed and its headless rider continue to charge towards her. Unwilling to lose her last knife, her gift from the sponsors, she turns on her heels and flees as quickly as she can through the forest, her flowing blonde hair sailing behind her.

Meanwhile, Glory remains at the former site of the Cornucopia, basking in the glorious destructive force of the ongoing storm. He raises his arms, empowered by his surroundings, and roars at the sky. A silver parachute fights the gale-force winds until it lands at the muscular blonde's feet. He crouches down enthusiastically before opening the moderately sized container, to find an extravagant gift from his sponsors. He has received what appears to be some kind of fist weapon, which is silver and cold and has four vicious spikes protruding from the knuckles. Each spike is tipped with a tiny, razor-pointed diamond, the hardest substance known to man.

The District 1 tribute rises, standing tall and proud as he attaches his new fist weapon to his left hand, gripping his vicious sickle in the other. He runs his hands through his hair, before taking a few powerful swings at the air in front of him. Glory feels strong, powerful and vicious. A vision of the Victor's crown flashes before his eyes, and he smirks determinedly.

The storm begins to grow stronger, and the mass of angry black clouds above him start to form a large circular vortex, like a hurricane. The wind, however, dies down, creating an eerie atmosphere of silence throughout the clearing. His blue eyes scan the surroundings, finding no tributes or signs of danger. Then he sees something at the edge of the forest.

A small, white figure materialises from behind the ebony boughs of trees. The figure is translucent, and moves slowly out into the clearing. Elsewhere, similar white figures appear. Their edges appear misty and unclear. As more of the ghostly figures show themselves, Glory realises that they are images of the fallen tributes. The ghosts of the people he had killed have come back to haunt him from beyond the grave. Again.

The ghosts walk across the ashen clearing, although they appear to almost float above the ground. He recognises the outfits the transparent tributes are wearing as those that they wore during the interviews before the Games. They look hauntingly beautiful. Glory readies himself for an attack, but the ghosts simply stand there, watching. The girls' dresses ripple in some kind of ethereal wind. The boys simply stare at the tribute, their faces void of emotion.

In the forest, Siri senses the shift in the storm, and predicts danger. She climbs down from her tree and twirls a knife in her hand, her brown eyes alert and darting about. She hears a cackle echo through the branches ahead of her, and only has a second to wonder what the source of the laughter is until a black, cloaked figure flies out from between the sinister branches of the black trees. Siri dives to the side to avoid the collision, to see that a hideous, green-skinned woman is flying through the air upon what appears to be a broomstick. She wears tattered black robes and a crooked, pointed black hat. Her nose is large, her yellow teeth are sharp and crooked, and her entire face is covered in hideous warts and pustules.

The ugly old woman cackles once more, and waves what looks like a stick of wood in Siri's direction. A large ball of flames spurts out of the end of her wand, and flies in the pale girl's direction. She jumps to the side, and the ball of fire hits the trunk of a tree, causing it to snap and fall to the ground. Siri begins running as fast as she can, and the woman chases after her on her flying broom. She is perfectly aware that this is the Gamemakers' way of driving the tributes together. No cannon has fired yet, so if she keeps running she will have to face both of the Careers. Crap!

As she sprints, her mind races. As soon as the tributes had arrived in the Capitol, the announcement had been made regarding the Halloween theme of the Games this year. While other tributes had focused on training, Siri had spent as much time as she could reading literature on the subject of the holiday from the Old World. The knowledge could well save her life, she had thought. She frantically searches through her mind for anything about ugly green women on flying brooms…

Witch! She's a witch! As if on cue, the witch waves her wand and sends another ball of flames ahead of her. It hits a tree in front of Siri, which then falls down inches from her feet and blocking the path ahead. Without pause, she turns to the right and continues running, trying desperately to think of a plan. She can't arrive and face two Careers at once. That would be a death sentence. Think, Siri. Think!

She tries to remember any of the literature she had read on witches. Spells, magic, potions… Witch-hunts and witch trials had been common at one point many centuries ago. Those suspected of practicing witchcraft were tied up and thrown into a deep body of water. Witches were thought to float, while the innocent were left to drown. Of course, none floated, as witchcraft was not real. How is this supposed to help? Siri sighs as she runs from the cackling witch, wracking her brains. Water, that's it!

She takes a turn to the right and runs as fast as she can in the direction of the large lake. While sprinting, she reaches into her backpack and pulls out the empty cauldron she grabbed at the feast earlier that day. The witch flies faster as Siri nears the lake. She hopes desperately that her plan, based on one sentence in a book she read, works.

Siri quickly kneels down, scooping her small cauldron down into the cool waters of the lake. She brings it up and twirls around to see the evil witch soaring towards her, a sinister grin on her hideous, boil-ridden face. She raises her clawed hands and swings her wand, sending a ball of fire headed for the tribute. Siri swings the cauldron, sending a wave of water towards the witch and diving to the side, narrowly missing the fiery projectile. The sound of hissing causes her to smile. Her plan worked.

She looks up to see that the water had splashed all over the witch's face, who is now writhing in pain and howling as steam rises from her burning flesh.

"I'm melting…" shrieks the hideous creature. "I'm melting!"

The witch disintegrates, and her black robes and pointed hat fall limp to the ground with her rickety broomstick. Siri sighs with relief and inspects the remains of the witch, finding the crooked wooden stick that used to be her wand. She smirks to herself, before her forehead creases as she contemplates a way to use this to her advantage. Her eyes widen as she thinks of something crazy. Something crazy that just might work.

As she is about to pull the black robes over her clothes, her thoughts turn to Laycie. She had seen her at the feast, witnessed what she was wearing: very little, to say the least. Siri rolls her eyes at the Career's immature and barbaric strategy for the Games, if you can even call it a strategy. Then it occurs to her, isn't that what the Capitol wants? The cruel, sadistic and corrupt citizens of the Capitol are vile in every way, and probably take great joy in watching a young woman in such revealing attire. The sexualisation of tributes has been going on since the Hunger Games first started.

Siri sighs, and realises she needs to play the game if she wants to win. She takes her knife, and begins cutting apart the tattered black witch robes. She proceeds to remove all of her clothes, with the exception of her undergarments. Siri pulls the altered fabric over her pale skin, before placing the hat on her head. The robes expose most of her bare, slender legs as well as her stomach and shoulders. She fastens the belt around her waist again, sheathing her knives as well as the witch's wand. She walks, barefoot, across the ashen floor and takes the wooden broomstick in her hand. Perhaps she is losing her mind in these Games, or perhaps she's just brilliant. Maybe both.

Siri kicks off the ground, and the broom carries her up over the branches of the dead forest. Ravens fly overhead, spooked by the ongoing storm. She leans forward on the broom and begins soaring through the air. Her long brown hair flows behind her, and the strips of robes wrapped around her pale skin trails after her like banners. Siri looks elegant, yet strong and haunting at the same time. Her eyes are determined as she realises this is exactly what they want in a Victor.

She sees a silver parachute floating down from the sky ahead of her. She takes one hand from her broom and grabs the package, before pulling back the handle of the broomstick and floating mid-air, her bare feet dangling. She opens the box, thrilled that she has received a gift from sponsors. The Capitol must have been impressed by her wit. Or her legs…

What she has been given surprises her. Inside the cool, metal container is a beautiful circular mirror with an ornate silver handle. Along the upper edge of the mirror, her name appears in a golden pulse of faint light over the silver metal, lit by technologies from her district. Siri Cleus.

Why would the Capitol give her this? What a pointless gift. She supposes she could break the mirror and use the shards of glass as a weapon, but she already has her knives. Her confusion is forgotten when she catches a glimpse of herself for the mirror, the first time she has seen herself since entering the Hunger Games.

What strikes her first is her eyes. Once shy and curious, her wide brown eyes are now determined and deadly. Her pale skin and delicate features stare coolly back at her, and her long, silky brown hair flows down from under her crooked witch's hat. Siri looks at her reflection: beautiful, cunning and deadly; the girl she was before the Games is long gone. "I am the Victor of the 13th Annual Hunger Games", she states confidently. Sliding the handle of the mirror into her belt, she soars once more through the air on her broom, determined as ever.

Meanwhile, Laycie continues to run through the dark forest from the headless horseman. She can see the glowing figures of the ghostly tributes through the trees, but can't stop without inviting the rider to swing his spiked mace at her head. The blonde girl continues running, fast approaching a pair of the transparent figures at the edge of the forest. They turn and look directly at her, their eyes piercing into her soul. Azalea, the District 1 girl, and Hack, the District 12 boy, victims of Laycie's blades, stare at her coolly and emptily. A reminder of the lives she ended.

Laycie closes her eyes and braces herself as she sprints through the ghosts, relieved when no resistance or pain is felt. She turns her head to see the horseman and his rider crash through the ghostly tributes, only to transform into a swarm of screeching bats. The black, winged creatures chase Laycie across the clearing until, all of a sudden, they vanish.

The ghostly tributes begin to close in from the edges of the forest, walking across the ash, expressionless. Laycie glances around, her sole knife in hand, sensing danger. From behind the burning remains of the feast, Glory strides out into view, looking cocky and powerful.

"Hey, gorgeous," he calls out to Laycie, smirking. "Long time, no see!"

"I've missed that face," she replies, winking. She smiles, but here eyes are deadly. "Like what you see?" She gestures to her body, which is fairly uncovered.

"Yeah, baby," he moans. "Really makes me want to thrust my weapon inside you."

"I'm not your baby," she states coolly. Her face becomes cold, dark and angry. She twirls her knife in her hands and starts to charge towards her enemy as the ghostly tributes close in, watching.

Laycie reaches Glory, ready to slash her knife at him, but he throws a kick in her direction. She lurches back to avoid it, and he takes a swing at her with his sickle. She jumps forward, grabbing his arm and twisting her body over his shoulder before landing and flipping the boy hard onto the ground.

Glory looks surprised at the slender girl's strength for a moment, before he leaps up and thrusts his fist weapon towards her exposed stomach. She swivels to avoid it, but the sharp spikes of his fist slash two shallow cuts in her abdomen. He goes on to take a slash at her with his vicious, twisted blade but she backflips and it misses.

Glory tackles Laycie to the ground, pinning her down and holding his sickle against her neck. His blue eyes have an animalistic expression, and he is smiling. Laycie struggles to break free, but he is much stronger than her.

"Don't lie, Four," he sighs. "You love it."

Laycie scowls at him, and gasps for breath as he presses down with his sickle. Her eyes stare up at him, tears forming as she chokes out a final request.

"At least let me have one last thing," she gasps. "Kiss me."

Glory smirks, marveling at the effect he has on the ladies. He leans in and kisses the beautiful District 4 girl, and their tongues meet. However, Laycie bites hard down into Glory's tongue, causing him to scream and lose his grip on the girl. She takes advantage, punching him in the nose and throwing him down on the ground. His nose is gushing blood, and is obviously broken. Before he can recover and fight back, Laycie stabs her knife down into his heart, right to the hilt.

"You vile, loathsome little beast," she spits, reveling in the shock and pain that contorts the arrogant Career, twisting her blade with malice. "I hope you rot in hell."

Glory tries to choke out the word "bitch", but all that comes out is a splatter of his own blood. Tears form in his eyes as he realises he has let his family down. He imagines hugging his little sister, Splendour, goodbye as his cannon fires.

Siri saw the pair fighting from her broom in the sky, and looks up at Glory's self-assured face as it materialises in the sky. She hopes desperately to live to see the final fallen tribute show above her. This is it, only one tribute left to face. She can't run forever, she might as well face her fate quickly.

Siri circles in the sky above surrounded by menacing clouds and forks of lightning. Thunder booms as she starts to descend towards the clearing to face her opponent. It's time to reveal her secret weapon. She reaches into her backpack, and removes a small device from it before dropping the bag from the sky, having no further need for food or supplies. After having seen one of the tributes being blown up by the mines during the countdown, she had thought of an idea. The night before the tributes were raised from their graves as undead, Siri had snuck to the podiums near the Cornucopia and unburied one of the mines. She had known the mines would be inactive to pressure now, and that it was safe to hold on to until it was required. Now was the moment.

She pointed the handle of her broomstick downwards, and flew rapidly down towards the ground as Laycie looks up, looking vicious and ready to kill. Siri continues to nosedive, gauging the angle and speed of her descent. With one hand, she makes use of her electrical knowledge and engages the mine to detonate when it next feels pressure. She is close enough to see straight into Laycie's eyes when she throws the mine straight at the ground in front of her.

Chaos ensues. The mine hits the ground, causing an enormous explosion that knocks Laycie to the ground. She grips her knife tightly and gets back up from the ground, but she can't see. The explosion has caused all the ash from the ground to fly up and form a cloud, which prevents her from seeing anything. Laycie panics, twirling around and searching for movement.

Siri seizes her chance before the clouds of dust have a chance to settle. She dismounts her broom and launches herself into the ash cloud, taking the witch's wand in her hand. The moment she catches a glimpse of her enemy's golden waves of hair, she waves the wand. Laycie hears the movement, but turns only to see a green flash of light heading straight for her face. The spell hits, and Siri is astounded that it even worked.

Laycie screams, and as the ash cloud begins to settle, Siri witnesses the result of the spell and can't help but laugh. Once a beautiful, blonde haired girl with a slender, toned body, Laycie now stands before her resembling the witch to which the wand previously belonged. Her skin was a sickly green, her nose was large and hooked and adorned with several warts, and her face was hideous.

"What did you do to me?" Laycie howls, poised with her knife.

"Why don't you take a look for yourself?" chuckles Siri. She takes the mirror from her belt and tosses it to her enemy. Laycie catches the mirror skillfully and shrieks when she sees her reflection.

Laycie, enraged and broken from having lost her beauty, throws the mirror to the ground in a fit of anger. The glass cracks widely in several places.

"You know," Siri taunts. "That's meant to be bad luck."

Laycie howls and charges for Siri, knife in hand. She takes a stab at her, but Siri grabs her arm and forces the palm of her other hand into Laycie's forearm. The bone snaps, and Laycie shrieks in agony. She takes her pearl-adorned dagger in her other hand and begins slashing at Siri, and the ghostly tributes, now joined by Glory, close in around them, watching silently. Siri dodges the strikes, while making stabs of her own with her knives. Laycie twists to avoid them effortlessly.

"You bitch," howls Laycie, as the pair continues fighting. "I'm going to end you."

"I don't think so," says Siri, coldly. Her revealing, black strips of robe blow around dramatically in the wind as she dodges and attacks. "I don't think you would want to live looking like that."

Laycie slashes her green, knife bearing arm with rage, but Siri blocks the attack and bends her arm backwards, causing it to snap. Laycie screams, dropping her dagger.

"Do you really think anyone would like you looking like that?" taunts Siri. Mind games; that is her tactic. Use them to break her. "No one will want to be seen with you, Laycie. Boys will never look at you again."

Tears form in Laycie's hideous eyes, processing the truth of her cruel words. Siri takes the opportunity to launch her bare foot at Laycie's exposed, green kneecap. One more kick, and both of the Career tribute's legs are broken. She falls to the ground, and Siri climbs over her, robed and knife in hand.

"Think about it," Laycie blurts out quickly. "Think about life after the Games. Think of all the people you've killed, all the poor and innocent lives you've ended."

Siri falters, as the faces of her victims flash across her eyes. Julius, Blade… Not to mention the other twenty people who have died for her to be here.

"I've been raised for this," Laycie continues, unable to struggle free with four broken limbs. "I was born to kill. I can live with it. You can't, Siri."

Siri looks straight into Laycie's eyes, understanding the truth of what she is saying. The faces of the dead teenagers would haunt her forever. Does the winner of the Hunger Games ever really win?

"You can't do it, Siri," Laycie urges. "You can't live with the guilt."

A cool determination flashes across her brown eyes and a flash of lightning illuminates her pale skin and flowing black strips of flailing material. She raises her knife.

"I'll have to," states Siri, as she thrusts the knife down between Laycie's green, furrowed eyes. As the final cannon fires, Siri feels her soul break into a million pieces, and she stands up. Reality shifts in her perception, and she feels disconnected from her body. Her bare legs walk her slowly over the ashen floor, and her body bends over to retrieve her gift from the sponsors, the ornate silver mirror.

Her name flashes across the cool metal rim in shimmering gold, and she looks at her reflection. The glass is shattered, and the face staring back at her is distorted. Her dark eyes stare back at her, as if they belong to a different person. The girl in the mirror is beautiful, deadly and haunting. The cracks across the reflection are not the only reason Siri looks broken.

"Ladies and gentlemen," booms the voice of Antonius Templesmith. "May I present to you District 3's very first Victor, the winner of the 13th Annual Hunger Games, Siri Cleus!"

The Capitol anthem blares throughout the arena, and hatred fills Siri's broken heart. As the hovercraft descends to collect her, causing her flowing dark hair and shredded black robes to fly chaotically around her, her dark eyes harden.

Now the real games begin.


End file.
